A Bunch of Stories Where Apple Bloom is Shipped
by Almost an Actress
Summary: I'm sorry for the horrible title, I really am. Welcome to a land of romance! Sometimes comedy, sometimes sorrow, Apple Bloom is about to be faced with OCs from everypony on FanFiction. (The OCs are closed for now, but I'm opening up something soon.)
1. Apple Bloom and Spike go to the Movies

**[Author's Note: I'm not sure why I'm writing these Chronicles, to be honest, everypony. I'm a huge fan of Apple Bloom, I guess. I'm also a huge fan of shipping. So there you have it. First up is: Apple Bloom X Spike. This isn't the first Fic I've done shipping Apple Bloom with somepony, but I've never shipped Spike with anypony. So pardon if a few details are off.]**

**{XOXO-NovemberChild13}**

_Spike and Apple Bloom go to the Movies_

Spike the dragon stared out the circular window into the pitch-black night. A creepy bug with thin wings and about six legs crashed against the window over and over. **(This was actually happening to me while I was writing this paragraph.) **Spike raised an unimpressed, bored eyebrow. "Why do you keep trying?" he asked out loud. "If ya couldn't get in an inch to the left, you can't get in right here." He flicked the window and the bug, startled, buzzed off to some unknown place in the night.

Spike was bored.

He wished Twilight would hurry back from her date. He wasn't sure who she was going out with, but everypony seemed to be in love with the pretty librarian. He tapped the window with his claw, almost wishing the creepy bug would come back. Suddenly, a soft _plink-plink-plink_ began to accompany his _tap-tap-tap_. He stopped tapping, suddenly scared. What if it was a burglar or something? A small stone hit the window, startling him. Then another. And another.

"What the-?" Spike muttered. It almost seemed like somepony was trying to get his attention! He opened the circular window and hissed out, "Who's there?"

"Me!" a tiny voice drawled. "Ah saw sumthin' like this on the Tee-vee!" Spike pondered the voice a moment before answering. The drawl, the childish squeakiness, the incorrect grammar, the deliberate pronouncing of "TV."

"Apple Bloom?!" he cried.

"Yeh?"

"_What_ are you doing here?" the little dragon practically yelled.

"As ah said a'fore, ah sumthin' like this on the Tee-vee. Ya'll know how the fancy ol' prince throws the rocks at the pretty lady's window? Well, ah'm not a prince. And yer not a pretty lady, but…" The soft voice trailed off, then started up again. "Ah came to be like a prince, ya know?"

"Are you saying you… like me?" Spike stuttered. "Hold on a minute." He shut the window and hurried out of the tree over to Apple Bloom. He wasn't even scared in the dark night. "It's cold outside, Bloom. C'mon in."

Apple Bloom, noticing he was next to her, blushed and backed away. "Ah-ah can't," she said. "Ah gotta go. Ya see, ah came here with the pebbles t'throw an' an explanation 'bout why ah was doin' it, but that's about it. Well, see ya Spike!" She began to run off.

Spike caught her by the tail. "Hey, wait. Apple Bloom."

"What?" she muttered, trying to pull her tail out of his grasp. Unfortunately, Spike had claws and an opposable thumb for gripping, while all she had were hooves, so he had the upper hand. (Or _claw_, so to speak.)

"You really like me?" Spike asked, not letting go of the soft red fur in her tail. "I've never had anypony like me."

"Ya'll haven't?" Apple Bloom asked, and stopped trying to get away. She sat down. "Would ya let go 'a my tail now, Spike? Ah ain't goin' nowhere."

Spike let go of her tail and sat across from her on the soft grass. The night was darker than Nightmare Moon's fur, Spike noted. Puffy blue clouds covered the wisp of a crescent moon, and the stars seemed to be hiding. Spike could barely see Apple Bloom in front of him in the soft night. "Hi," he said quietly, for lack of anything else to say.

"Howdy."

"Um..." The only part of Apple Bloom he could see were her sunset-colored eyes. He frantically searched for something to talk about. "So… I heard Applejack and Rainbow Dash going out on a date. To the movies. With each other." His sentences came out halting, and he blushed while he was saying them. He'd never heard of two mares going on a date, and the subject made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Yeh," Apple Bloom responded brightly. He saw her sunset-eyes sparkle in the darkness. "Ah'm so happy for my sis! Ah heard that Twilight was gettin' a lotta dates, too."

"Yeah. Not sure who she's going out with this week." Suddenly, Spike had an idea. "Hey, I bet the movie that your sister and Dash went to is playing right now! You wanna go?"

"Sure!" Apple Bloom replied. She felt a shiver go through her body as Spike grabbed her hoof. They ran all the way to the movie theater, bursting into the lobby. The movie was a dinky little cartoon one. Suddenly, Spike slapped his forehead. "What?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I don't have any bits!"

"Aw. Me neither."

"I've got an idea." Spike distracted the pony selling tickets while Apple Bloom snuck in. After she was safely inside, Spike cried, "LOOK OVER THERE!" When the pony looked, Spike ran inside the movie theater. He nearly crashed into Apple Bloom and they giggled like fourth-graders. They sat in the front row and watched the slightly-mushy slightly-heart-warming story. During the movie, Apple Bloom reached over and kissed Spike on the cheek.

It was the specialist gift he ever gotten.


	2. Apple Bloom meets Lunar Moon

The door to the modest one-room schoolhouse opened and a young colt shuffled in. He raised a dark blue hoof to push up his light blue glasses. He hated the fact that he needed the stupid glasses. They just made him the object of ridicule. Realizing he was first in the glass, he blushed, and took a seat in the back. As eager as the young'un was to learn, he was so afraid of being made fun of that he always sat in the back and tried to go unnoticed. It was his second week at Ponyville Elementary School, and he hated it. The foals were jerks, as per usual in any school he went to. He tugged his blood red scarf tighter around his neck and pulled his binder out of his saddlebags. The binder was dark green, containing his five-subject notebook and a few worksheets. "Hello, Lunar!" his teacher, Miss Cheerilee, greeted warmly.

"Hi," he responded quietly. His real name was Lunar Moon, but most ponies just called him Lunar. "How are you, ma'am?"

"I'm good, thanks," Miss Cheerilee said. "You're here bright and early, aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lunar answered, still quiet. "I am." He looked down at his shiny brown desk. In the far corner, some stupid foal had carved, "AB + DT = LOVE" into the desk. He wasn't quite sure who "AB" was, but he knew who this "DT" was. DT was Diamond Tiara, the snobbiest filly at the school. She was constantly flanked by her little crony, Silver Spoon. He shook his head in disgust.

"I have to go outside real quick, hon," Miss Cheerilee said. "I've got to run down the road to make some copies at the post office. I would normally send you home to wait, but I can trust you, can't I?"

Lunar Moon nodded, and listened to her trotting out the door. He had never been in a schoolhouse alone. It was quiet and peaceful, but a little bit sad, as if it missed being full of fillies and colts. Suddenly, the door burst open and a sobbing filly ran in, slamming it shut and locking it. "AH HATE YOU ALL!" she screamed at the door, and then collapsed in a crying heap.

Lunar Moon stared intensely at his desk. He had absolutely no idea what to do. Slowly, he trotted over to the windows and silently pulled the shades down, so nopony could peek in and see the weeping filly. He knew he'd be ashamed if somepony saw _him_ like this. Not that he ever would be, of course. He pushed up his glasses and tightened his scarf; a nervous tick some called it. He trotted over to the sobbing filly and patted her on the back. "It's okay," he whispered.

The filly looked up, hiccupping. "Who're you?" she sniffed.

"I'm Lunar. Lunar Moon," Luna sighed, knowing that nopony remembered his name but the ones who made fun of him.

"Ah remember you. Yer the new colt. Ya just fade into the background," the filly drawled.

Lunar nodded, satisfied. This filly seemed smart. "Who're you?" he asked softly.

"Ap-Ap-Applebloom," the filly stammered. "And ah HATE everypony outside."

"That's a lot of ponies to hate," Lunar remarked.

"They… they said ah liked Diamond Tiara!" Apple Bloom sobbed. "Ah do not! Ah like colts! Not fillies!"

So that's what the desk carving meant! Lunar nodded to himself, thinking about this. "So… who are these foals?" he asked in his quiet voice.

"They… they're…" Apple Bloom couldn't finish her sentence she was crying so hard.

"It doesn't matter," Lunar said with conviction.  
"Why?"

"Because you've got me. And I'm your friend. Nothing bad will happen to you as long as you're with me, alright? As I said, I'm your friend. I know what it feels like to be made fun of. Chin up, 'kay?" He put his hoof under her chin and lifted her face. "Don't show them weakness. Ignore those jerks."

Apple Bloom stood up and wiped her tears away. "Yep," she confirmed with a thoughtful nod.

"What?"

"Ah definitely know ah like colts."

Lunar just blushed, tightening his scarf and pushing up his glasses.


	3. Apple Bloom Falls in Love

**Hello, everypony! Novi, here. This story is for TorstenderMilch. I've decided to use all of his OCs. Enjoy! (And a side note: this story is really sad, so just a quick warning.)**

**- Novi**

**XXX**

The three foals walked down the road. One with a dark gray pelt and a black mane and tail with orange steaks in them barked commands in a demanding tone. He appeared to be the oldest, at about age fifteen. The next oldest, maybe thirteen, was a snow-white filly with a long black tail and a black bob. She was a proud unicorn with gray eyes. She was speaking in soft, yet urgent tones to the gray colt, telling him about how the world needed peace. The youngest was about twelve, a sand-colored earth pony with a long, unkempt brown mane and tail. He rolled his big maroon eyes and heaved a breath. "STOP ARGUING!" he shouted.

"Arguing is bad for the spirit," the quiet white filly intoned. "It messes with your chi. And if your chi is messed up, you might project angry energy out on to the world. Your attitude is important in these situations. Most ponies might suggest burning some calming incense, but I suggest-"

"Shut up, ya hippy!" the slate-gray foal snapped. "Nopony wants to hear your voodoo talk!"

"I'm_ not_ voodoo!" the white filly cried, aghast. "Voodoo is a wicked practice, you hear?" She turned to her younger brother. "Kunai, _never_ practice voodoo." She placed her hooves on Kunai's shoulders and looked him the eye. "Promise me."

"I promise, I promise," Kunai said with a roll of his eyes. "Get off my case, Semiquaver."

The oldest brother, whose name was Hand Grenade, couldn't take it anymore. Letting forth an angry cry, he wrenched around and grabbed for his sister, who jumped away just in time for him to slip and face plant in the mud.

Kunai guffawed. "Maybe they should call you Mud Grenade!" he shrilled.

The angry colt wrenched himself up and snarled, "You're gonna get it, both of you idiots!" He grabbed for his brother, who dashed away, with Semiquaver hot on his heels. "Get back here!" he roared, but his skinny sister and his sneaky brother were already far away. While Hand Grenade was the strongest in his grade, maybe even in his school, he wasn't the fastest. He was tall and stocky with lots of muscle, which added bulk. Sighing, the teenage colt stomped a heavy hoof and snorted, his breath steaming in the air. He usually went to the gym when he was mad to let off some steam, so he decided to do so. Turning on his heel, he almost crashed into a little buttery-yellow blob. Said blob was actually a filly, who looked about ten. She had yellow fur, orange-red eyes, a red licorice-colored mane, and a giant pink bow.

"Move it, Butter-Blob," Hand Grenade growled, pushing the buttery-yellow filly out of the way.

"Excuse me?!" Butter-Blob cried. "Mah name is Apple Bloom! And ya'll, ya'll stay right where ya'll are, mister!" She pulled a note card out of her saddlebags and read, "Mah name is Apple Bloom, proud member a' th' Apple Family! Ah'm ten years old. Happy t' make yer acquaintance, and someday ah hope we can be good friends. What's yer name?" She stuck out a hoof.

Hand Grenade was so shocked that he stammered out, "Hand Grenade," she shook Butter-Blob's hoof. He slowly regained his composure, and put on an unimpressed face. "I gotta go, kid."

"A'right! Ah'll go with ya, then," the filly responded happily, and trotted beside him as he trudged to the gym. "Where we goin'?"

"_I'm_ going to the gym," Hand Grenade answered. "You're not going with me, Butter-Blob."

"Ah am so!" the stubborn filly cried, sticking out her bottom lip and putting on her best puppy dog eyes. "Please! Please, Hand Grenade!"

Hand Grenade glared at the pouting filly, narrowing his eyes. They were locked in this battle of wills for a few more moments, but Hand Grenade felt his resolve cracking. The little filly _was_ awful cute…. "Ugh! Fine!" he muttered, disgusted. "You can come, Butter-Blob."

"Yay!" the filly squealed, jumping into the air and on to his back.

"What the-?" Hand Grenade snapped. "Get of me, kid!"

"Eeenope!" Butter-Blob said with a happy grin, and buried her hooves in his mane, holding on tight, like she were riding a horse. (Which she was.) "Giddy-up, Nady!"

Hand Grenade, knowing he couldn't shake the cute filly off, begrudgingly stomping forward, muttering, "Don't call me Nady."

"But it's a nickname, Nady!" Butter-Blob protested. "You call me Butter-Blob, so why can't ah call ya'll Nady?"

Hand Grenade grumbled, but kept silent. _What did I get myself into?_ he thought. _I've got this teenybopper hangin' off me, and I can't shake her. Why didn't I just push her away when she did the puppy dog eyes? _He growled to himself, cursing under his breath. When they finally reached the gym, Hand Grenade headed straight for the weights and began lifting two ten-pounders as a warm-up.

"Wow!" Butter-Blob shrieked. "Yer real strong, Nady!"

A few of the tougher male ponies looked at him with raised eyebrows and smirked. "Shut up, kid!" Hand Grenade growled.

"Oops, sorry!" Butter-Blob said with a smile. She watched him in fascinated silence as he went from weight set to weight set, machine to machine, until he was sweating and his muscles trembled.

"Let's go home," Hand Grenade sighed, noticing how he had said "let's" and cursing himself for it. He scooped up the hyper filly and trotted back to his house, but not before walking the filly home and making sure she was inside her house before he left.

XXX

And so it came to be, this odd couple. One of them, a tough, stocky fifteen-year-old, and the other: a hyper, adorable ten-year-old. Apple Bloom slowly found herself beginning to get a crush on Hand Grenade, and resented the fact that he thought of her only as a little sister. One day, she had announced, "Ah'm gonna marry you, Nady."

"Alright, then," Hand Grenade had laughed. "We'll see, kiddo. I'm much too old for you, and you're much too young for me. Besides, I've got my eye on Sugar Eclipse."

Apple Bloom had sighed, then, whishing she was just a few years older.

XXX

_**Epilogue: Fifteen Years Later…**_

The twenty-five-year-old mare looked into the eyes of her husband-to-be and tried not to cry at the happiness of it all. Her wedding was just so perfect, though. All of her friends and family were gathered on one side of the fancy chapel, and all of Nady's relations and friends were gathered at the other side. The preacher was her own big brother, Mac, who by now had a wife and a whole gaggle of young foals. "Ya'll may kiss th' bride," Mac drawled.

Hand Grenade, who was now thirty, kissed his bride-to-be, and that sealed the deal. He was married. He grinned so hard he thought his face would fall off. _To think,_ he thought_. All those years ago and this same beautiful mare was like a sister to me!_

_Well… miracles never cease. _


	4. Bloom Makes Me Stronger

_**Thespian Dream: Hey there, everypony! NovemberChild13 is absent at the moment, so and I, her OC Thespian Dream, will fill in for her. I, an aspiring actress, am using this story opportunity to put on my résumé. Look, I just wanna get into Vassar, alright? **_

__**NovemberChild13: Okay, Thespian Dream. Time to go. Sorry, folks. NovemberChild13, here! Everypony, this is the only story I'll be updating for a while. Anyway, this one is for Carlos45, whose OC is named Meap. He has a white pelt, purple eyes, and a black mane. And he's afraid of ponies, apparently. So enjoy, Carlos45!**

**-Novi **_**and Thespian Dream!**_

**XXX**

"Meap," Molly said gently, looking down at her son, "you need to go to school. You're twelve years old. I can't home school you forever, bud." She was a white pony with a purple mane and black eyes, which crinkled slightly at the edges as she smiled down at her only son. As she stared down into his terrified purple eyes, she was taken back to the day he was born, when she and her husband, Flare Dance, had stared down at their newborn son. Shaking her head gently, she pushed up her black-framed glasses and sighed.

"B-but, Ma," Meap stammered, "I don't wanna see other ponies." A quiver shook his white-furred body as her brushed his black mane out of his eyes. "They'll make fun of me. Or… or…" He trailed off, shaking like a leaf.

"Meap," Molly said, "Dad would want you to go to school."

"D-don't bring up Dad!" Meap stammered. His father had died a year ago on a construction job when a beam had fallen on him. Meap was terrified of the world before that. Now, he was inconsolably frightened.

"Okay, okay," Molly said quietly, wiping away a tear. "I miss him too, bud." She ran a hoof through his mane. "Look, let's try this: are you afraid of me?"

"Of course not!" Meap scoffed, sitting down on the couch. "Ma, you're my ma! Why should I be afraid of _you_?"

"Are you afraid of Mrs. Peace?" Molly asked, sitting down next to her son.

Before answering, Meap pictured the pony Ma was talking about. Soothing Peace was his therapist. She was a gray pony with her white mane done up in a beehive. She was a kind mare, and never made him feel stupid. Like his ma, she had eyes that crinkled when she smiled. Smoothing down his black mane, Meap answered, "No, Ma. I'm not afraid of Soothing Peace." He trotted into the kitchen and filled a teakettle with hot water, and then set it on the stove. Turning on a burner, he looked into the living room, where Molly was sitting with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Want some tea, Ma?" he asked.

"No, thanks," Molly answered. She tapped her chin with a hoof and said thoughtfully, "You're not afraid of Apple Bloom, are you?"

Meap stiffened. Apple Bloom was his only friend. She was twelve like him, and went to the town school. She lived on the outskirts of Ponyville, on a farm he'd never been to and never wanted to go to. She was always telling him how cool the world was if he'd just give it a chance. As silly and exuberant as she was, he loved her. In truth, he _love_-loved her. Not that they'd ever work out, he reasoned. He was just some agoraphobic, stupid colt, and was a beautiful, funny, brave adventurer. "No," he answered quietly. "I'm not afraid of Bloom, Ma."

"Then why should you be afraid of anypony else?" Molly asked gently. "Not everypony is a bully, Meap. Not everywhere is dirty and gross."

"I… I can't not be afraid," Meap muttered. "It's impossible." Glaring up at his mother, he cried, "YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND, MA! NOPONY DOES! FINE! YOU WANT ME TO GO OUTSIDE SO BAD, HERE I GO!" Ignoring the sudden shrill shriek of the teakettle he raced to the door, slammed it open, and down the porch steps. He kept running. Through the forest that bordered his house, through the meadow in front of the forest, into Ponyville, through the paths and streets, past the outskirts of the town and right on to Apple Bloom's farm. It was as if his hooves knew where to take him. He kept running through the apple orchards, and finally collapsed in a remote corner of the orchard. There was an adorable little tree house calling to him, and he stumbled up a ramp, and collapsed in the tree house. It was quaint and well furnished. He would've appreciated it more if he wasn't covered in sweat. Dragging himself over to the carpet, Meap let himself relax, his sides heaving and his heart pounding. He pulled several briars out of his hooves and fur and ran a hoof through his sweat-slicked, tangled mane.

"Meap?"

Meap jumped, on the defense. His snarly mane covered his eyes so that all he saw was the outline of a foal. Still breathing heavily, he managed, "I'm sorry. I-I didn't know this was your tree house. I'll go now, just d-don't hurt me."

"Meap, it's me. What're y'all doin' here?" the foal asked, coming over to him and brushing his mane out of his eyes with a gentle hoof. It was Apple Bloom!

"B-Bloom?" Meap stammered, looking into her sunset-colored eyes. Her hoof was still at the side of his face, holding a few stray stands of his inky black mane. "What are you doing here?" Meap asked, echoing her question.

"This is mah tree house!" Apple Bloom giggled. "Yer welcome to it, though, Meap."

"Th-thanks," Meap stammered.

"Ah had no idea ya'll were here!" Apple Bloom cried. "It's so awesome, ain't it? Ponyville, ah mean. It's real pretty this time 'a year." She leaned in, so that her cider-smelling breath tickled his nose. "Ah'm so proud 'a you, Meap. Didn't know you had it in ya."

Meap blushed, his snowflake-white pelt darkening to blood red. "I… I…" he stammered. Leaning forward, he pecked Apple Bloom on the lips, pulled away with wide eyes, stuttered out an apology, and ran away.

Apple Bloom looked down at the floor of the tree house and kicked it, muttering, "Stupid boys."

XXX

Meap ran through Ponyville, surprised to find that he wasn't the least bit scared. Still, though, he needed to get somewhere where there wasn't anypony. He needed to think. Right now, he was feeling angry, ashamed, and giddy with excitement… all at once! Cursing himself under his breath, he ducked into an abandoned building and curled up into a ball and screamed. "_What_ did I just _do_?" he hissed. "I just yelled at _Ma_, ran _outside of the house_, broke into a tree house, and _kissed Apple Bloom_! _ARG!_"

From outside the building, he heard a call of, "Meap? Meap? Where are y'all, boy?" And another: "Meap? Meap, sweetie?"

"Ma?! Bloom?!" Meap cried, running outside. And there they were: sweet little Bloom, and kind, caring Molly. He ran into Molly's waiting forelegs and cried, "I'm sorry, Ma!" Pulling away, he smiled shyly at Apple Bloom. "Let's try that again," he suggested, and kissed Apple Bloom in front of all of Ponyville.

And you know what?

He wasn't scared at all.


	5. The Downfall of the Jerky

**Hey there, everypony! This story is for Orion Darkness, who kindly offered his OC, Eclipse, to be shipped with Apple Bloom. For his appearance, he has a spiky black mane with a crimson outline, his tail is white and spiky with a blue outline, and his cutie mark is an eclipse. Hope you enjoy! Especially Orion Darkness!**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

Eclipse listened to the stallion babble on about his "Barnyard Bargain" store. His worst enemy's father, Filthy Rich, had come to talk about his business chain, and it was boring everypony to death. Sweetie Belle, an acquaintance of his, had her mouth gaping open, her eyes glazed over, and her hooves limp at her sides. She looked dead. He snickered. The daughter of Filthy Rich, an irritant to the world named Diamond Tiara, whipped around and gave him a venomous glare. _Yeesh. If looks could kill,_ Eclipse thought. A spunky gal named Scootaloo caught his eye and mimicked the snobby stallion. She crossed her eyes and hung her lids down lazily, stuck out her lower jaw, and moved it like she was giving an invigorating speech. He smothered a giggle. Diamond Tiara whipped around again and loudly hissed, "_SHH!_"

"Make me!" Eclipse whispered fiercely. He gave the snobby filly a death glare, imagining all the ways she could mysteriously disappear.

"…And that, students, is how the stock market works," Filthy Rich narrated, breaking the young foals' battle of wills for the moment.

"Uh… wha…?" their teacher, Miss Cheerilee mumbled, waking up from a bore-induced nap. "Um…" She smoothed down her mane and shook her head sharply. "Er… thank you for that, ah… fascinating speech, Filthy."

"Mr. Rich," Filthy Rich corrected in an annoyed tone.

Cheerilee muttered something that sounded sort of like, "Whatever, you prick."

"Pardon?" Filthy Rich half-shouted.

"I said 'however blue stick'," Cheerilee said calmly, pasting on a huge smile. "You may go now, Filthy." Slightly miffed, the stallion left.

XXX

Apple Bloom sat in front of a tree with her head buried in her hooves. "Ah _hate _them," she muttered through gritted teeth.

Eclipse, who had been walking by, heard the young filly and walked towards her. "Who?" he asked calmly.

Apple Bloom looked up with big, watery eyes and murmured, "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. They're so dad-gum _mean _t' me!"

"Aw, it's alright," Eclipse said, putting a foreleg around the sobbing filly. "I don't like them either. In fact," he said, leaning in so that his muzzle was in Apple Bloom's ear, "I'm planning a little prank."

"A… a prank?" Apple Bloom sniffed, wiping her eyes. "Like… revenge?"

"Yeah," Eclipse grinned. "Come with me. Watch." He helped the little filly up. "Let's walk and talk."

"Oh-okay," Apple Bloom sniffled. She walked beside the strange colt, thinking about how mean Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were to her. Today they had put gum on her seat, made it look like she drew a rude drawing of her teacher, _and_ clipped part of her mane off! This was going too far! They were teasers before, but now they were harassers! "What'll the prank be?" she asked.

"Let me answer your question with a question," Eclipse countered. "What did they do to you that made you cry like that?"

"They… they put gum on mah chair and it got all over mah bee-hind! And then they drew a rude drawin' 'a Miss Cheerilee and said ah did it! And then they cut off part 'a mah mane with scissors during craft time!"

"That's uncool," Eclipse said calmly. "You ever heard of the term 'Fight fire with fire'?"

"No," Apple Bloom said.

"Well," Eclipse said with a wicked grin, "we're about to make a blaze!"

XXX

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were walking to Diamond Tiara's large suburban house outside of Ponyville when Silver Spoon's ears pricked up. "Um… Diamond?" she said. "Do you hear something?"

"Don't, like, be stupid, Spoon. I don't hear anything!" The minute those words left Diamond Tiara's mouth, her ears caught a faint giggle. It sounded slightly haunting. It would've been scarier if it wasn't the middle of the afternoon, but it was still scary nonetheless. "Um… I may've heard something," Diamond Tiara muttered.

"Like a giggle?" Silver Spoon shuddered.

Diamond Tiara nodded. Suddenly, something pushed her from behind. She fell on to the ground. "OW!" Diamond Tiara shrieked. "Who did that?!"

"I… I dunno," Silver Spoon muttered, getting scared. Something pushed her as well, and she landed on her side, which hurt like crazy. She looked over at Diamond, who was nursing a bloody nose from where she had landed on her face. "I'm scared, Diamond."  
Suddenly, Apple Bloom came staggering towards them. Or… something that had been Apple Bloom. Her face was bone-white, and her eyes were sunken. She was limping, and there was blood pooling out of her head. "Ya'll killed me!" she moaned.

Silver Spoon gaped. "How?!" she cried.

"Ya'll cut mah mane, but it got mah head. _Ah bled out!_" she snarled. "Mah death was so painful and torturous, ya'll will relive it!"

"No!" Diamond Tiara cried, the blood flowing out of her nose. "Please, Apple Bloom! I… I don't wanna die!"

"Why shouldn't ya?" Apple Bloom growled, pressing her pale white face up against Diamond Tiara's.

"I… I'm just a filly! I'm only ten!"

"Ah was nine," Apple Bloom said dryly.

"We're sorry!" Silver Spoon sobbed.

"That's all ah needed," the ghost of Apple Bloom grinned. She rubbed her pale face with a foreleg, and it turned yellow again. Her eyes went from sunken to cheerful, and she produced a rag to wipe off the "blood."

Eclipse walked out of the bush and put a foreleg around Apple Bloom. He was holding a video camera in his hoof. "And that," he narrated, "is the downfall of the jerky."


	6. Sunny Crasher and the Crasher Basher

**Hi everypony! Sorry that I'm so off schedule! I just have so much bucking homework! Urg. Anyway, this story is for "September kid", who kindly offered his (her?) OC, Sunny Crasher. He didn't tell me the pelt color, so I'm going with yellow. Enjoy! **

**-Novi**

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Sunny Crasher trotted out of his house, his yellow pelt glimmering in the September sun. He shook out his messy maroon mane, the few orange streaks in it falling to his shoulders. The foal was very happy today. He was going to show off his special talent to the filly he liked, a Southern spitfire named Apple Bloom. He opened his wings and flew to school as fast as he could, which was a first. Sunny Crasher was not a fan of sitting still and being quiet and learning. He just wanted speed! Speed and fun and roaring, raucous, rambunctiousness!

With a boyish giggle, the colt screamed into the wind, letting it blow his mane back. He pointed his hooves foreword to gain more speed, and angled his wings at his side. With a cry, he shot into the sky, pushing through clouds. When he finally reached an appropriate height, he rested for a moment, scanning Ponyville.

"Well, simple citizens of Ponyville," Sunny Crasher said to himself, "you're about to be amazed!" He shot straight downwards, the force of the wind blowing his lips back and making his cheeks wobble like a shaky jelly. He glared into the wind as it tore at his eyes and made them tear up. His mane and tail were flying like crazy, messy, disjointed kites. "YAAAAAA!" Sunny Crasher screamed, and smashed straight into the hard ground.

For a moment, all was silent. Then, a great golden explosion poured out of the hole Sunny Crasher had created, bathing Ponyville in a buttery light. Eventually, it faded, and Sunny Crasher flew weakly out of his hole. He stumbled in the direction of school, and managed to get into the classroom and to his desk just as the tardy bell rang.

"Sunny Crasher, you're late," his teacher, Miss Cheerilee, said disapprovingly. "Care to give us a reason why?"

"I made a hole," Sunny Crasher slurred, trying to gather his senses. After he did his signature Crasher Basher move, his brain always felt frazzled, and he was always slightly injured, but it was just so fun! _Oh, no. Maybe I shouldn't have done the Crasher Basher this morning. I have to do it after school for Apple Bloom. But… I've never done the Crasher Basher twice in one day. Heck, I've never done it twice in one week! _Sunny Crasher thought desperately. Finally recalling his senses, he blushed. "I… I did a Crasher Basher."

"What's that?" a snobby filly named Diamond Tiara sniffed. "It sounds stupid."

Sunny Crasher rolled his eyes, which brought on a mild headache. "It's not stupid!" he growled around the pounding in his head. "Heck, I'll show you all right now!"

"Do it then!" Diamond Tiara snarled.

"Class, class," Miss Cheerilee interrupted. "Calm down. Sunny Crasher, you may show us this Crasher Basher, and then right back to fractions."

The class cheered, including Apple Bloom. She smiled blithely, and then hissed, "Can ya'll really do it, Sunny? Ya'll told me ya could only do it once a week at the most!"

"I know," Sunny Crasher whispered back. "I'm gonna try." On a whim, the confident colt added, "For you."

Apple Bloom blushed and nodded curtly. "Sounds cool!"

"Alright, class!" Sunny Crasher cried, clapping his hooves together. "We're goin' on a little field trip. Outside!" He led the curious colts and inquisitive fillies outside. "First," he said, fighting the pounding in his temples, "I fly up into the sky. We'll go from there." With a wink at Apple Bloom, he flew straight up into the sky. He was sloppy, though. His skull felt like it was going to crack from pain, and his wings were tired. He finally made it to where he wanted to be. Yelling down to his now-tiny classmates, he cried, "THEN I FLY STRAIGHT DOWN! YOU'LL BE AMAZED!" The loud volume made his skull rattle, but he flew down anyway. His eyes teared as usual, but this time it was from pain. His wings felt like they were going to fall off, and he wanted to crack his skull and scoop out the pain like ice cream. "I. Can. Do. This," he growled to himself. Suddenly, the ground was coming at him at an incredible rate. Only the self-satisfied smirk of Diamond Tiara, with her _I bet he can't do it_ expression kept him going. He crashed straight into the ground, creating a giant hole and a huge burst of warm golden light. He clawed his way out of the hole and pasted on a self-confident grin, wanting to look good for Apple Bloom.

"Ya'll did it, Sunny!" Apple Bloom shrieked, running over to him and kissing him on the check.

It was like magic, then; the pain went right away.


	7. Comet Chaser's Sorrow

**Author's Note: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Hey there, everypony! NovemberChild13, here. This story is for HMLover, who kindly offered her OC, Comet Catcher, for my story. I'm sorry it's so short, but I had things to do! :D Enjoy, girlie!**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

The small orange colt named Comet Catcher stared up at the poster in front of his school. It read, "THE STAR BALL! COME ONE COME ALL, FILLIES AND COLTS! BRING A DATE AND DANCE DURING THE FAMOUS METEOR SHOWER ON BRIDLE HILL! TOMORROW NIGHT AT NINE!" He gasped and put an orange hoof in his mouth. "I know what to do!" he whispered. "I'm gonna ask Apple Bloom!" The colt was madly in love with the buttery yellow filly, and now was his chance! He turned and raced to find his crush.

But… there she was.

Being asked to the dance by a colt named Pipsqueak.

He put his head in his hooves and sighed. Nothing ever went right.


	8. Double Bubble Trouble

**Author's Note: Hey there everypony! NovemberChild13, here! This story is for Shado Room of Souls, who kindly offered his OC, Tulip Bubble, to be shipped with Apple Bloom. If you don't like female shippings, that's fine. Just a quick warning that that's what this is. I'm so, so, so sorry for making the last story so short, but it was Halloween, and I was tired and busy. I'm updating every day, by the way! Enjoy! (P.S. Sorry for **_**The Hunger Games**_** reference, but I like the idea of a filly named Catnip Evergeen. So… yeah.) **

**~Novi**

**XXX**

Tulip Bubble was sure about several things in life. She knew that she was destined to be an artist, she was a little shy around strangers, and she liked girls. She was only thirteen, but she had a feeling that she liked fillies better than colts.

It had all started when she was ten, and had developed her first crush: a filly named Lavender Dream. And then when she was eleven, when she decided she liked a filly named Catnip Evergreen. She and Catnip had been best friends as for about six months, until Catnip turned twelve and started dating a colt named Comet Harper. And then, when she was twelve, she spent most of her time looking longingly at Catnip. At thirteen, she had moved on.

She had just enrolled in the eighth grade at a school in a tiny town called Ponyville. Ponyville was alright, if a little boring. It had some cool ponies, some rude ponies, and some nerdy ponies, just like Manehattan, where she was from. It was-

"Tulip Bubble."

The scolding tone brought her out of her reverie. "Um… yeah?" she muttered, dazed.

"We do not say 'um… yeah' in this class, do you hear me?" the mare with the scolding voice chastised.

"Yeah."

"Tulip Bubble!"

"I mean yes! Yes, I hear you, ma'am." Tulip Bubble brought a pale pink hoof up to her face, to conceal the rolling of her sky-blue eyes. Her teacher was _so_ irritating! Apparently, Ponyville had two buildings for schools. One, the original building, taught first through sixth grade. The other, the newest building, taught seventh through ninth grade. Ponies that were in tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade went to the high school down the road. Her teacher was named Ramrod Straight, and was a graying mare who believed in the "old-fashioned rules." She frequently muttered about how she'd whip her students if she were still allowed. The younger building had a sweet, young teacher named Ms. Cheerilee.

She sighed. It'd be nice not to have an old hag as a teacher.

"TULIP BUBBLE!" Ramrod Straight thundered. "PAY ATTENTION!" She stomped a hoof on Tulip Bubble's desk, and the pale pink pony jumped.

"I… I'm sorry," she stammered, shrinking away. "Ma'am," she added as a second thought.

"You know the punishment for disrupting class twice," Ramrod Straight snarled. She pointed a sharp hoof at the door and roared, "OUT OF MY CLASS!"

Tulip Bubble gathered her things, her pale pink coat staining dark red with her blush. She pushed all of her items into her saddle bag and then skedaddled out of the class. She wasn't quite sure where to go from here. She couldn't go home, because her mother would yell. She couldn't go to the younger pony's building because she wasn't a TA. And she certainly couldn't go back into class!

"My hooves'll take me where I wanna go," Tulip Bubble murmured to herself, letting her hooves lead her in the direction of the forest. She trotted for a while until she heard a quiet humming. Peeking through the trees, she saw a little banana-yellow filly humming to herself. Sneaking up on the filly, she said loudly, "Shouldn't you be in school?"

The filly turned around. "Shouldn't_ y'all_ be in school?" she countered.

"I got kicked out," Tulip Bubble said with a blush. Wow, this filly was _cute_! Oh, Celestia. _Please, please, please do not get a crush on her. She's probably much younger than you, Bubble. DO NOT get a crush on her! _

"Ah'm Apple Bloom," the filly smiled. "Ah'm in eighth grade. Just moved here from Appaloosa."

"I'm Tulip Bubble. How old are you?" Tulip Bubble asked hopefully.

"Thirteen."

Thank Celestia! "Me too!" Tulip Bubble squealed.

"Know if this school has any cute gir- Uhm… boys?" Apple Bloom stammered with a blush. She covered her mouth and let out a moan. "Ah mean… ah mean… boys!" she cried. Seeing Tulip Bubble's quirked eyebrow and knowing expression, Apple Bloom sighed. "Well, we ain't known each other for five minutes and ya'll already know my secret. Ah like fillies." She hung her head, letting her red mane fall in front of her eyes.

"I don't care," Tulip Bubble said breezily. She smiled a genuine smile. "It's really okay, Apple Bloom." She put a hoof on the yellow filly's slumped shoulder. "You can look at me, Bloom."

Apple Bloom looked up from her curtain of red mane, her cheeks stained with a blush. "Ya'll don't care?"

"Of course not!" Tulip Bubble cried. "And anypony who would is a jerk! In fact, I… um… well…" she muttered, trailing off.

"Ya'll like girls too?" Apple Bloom asked, finishing her sentence.

"Er… yeah," Tulip Bubble muttered.

Apple Bloom took Tulip Bubble's hoof in her own and squeezed it. "Then we're a team."


	9. How Jason Became A General

**Author's Note: Hey everypony! NovemberChild13, here. This is a VERY IMPORTANT author's message, and if you usually skip my messages, you should read this one. Okay, number one: Apple Bloom and the OC, Jason, are humanized in this one. So the reason I'm saying "Hair, hand, and arm" instead of "Mane, hoof, and foreleg" is because they are not ponies. Number two: I'm trying to update every day, but I have other stories to balance, along with: homework, family time, reading, writing not-Fic stories, school, sleeping, eating, etc. The life of a person in school is hard! And number three: This story is for Jason0521, who kindly offered his OC, Jason, to be used. (Also, this story is terribly sad.)**

** Enjoy! **

** - Novi**

**XXX**

Jason looked at his children. Tabby, Becca, Aaron, and James. They were asking him how he became so tough. "Well kids," Jason said, his eyes turning very sad. "You're old enough for the story."

**XXX**

Jason was new in town, and that automatically put him at a risk. The other boys might try to beat him up, and the girls would lift their little pug-noses in disdain. That made him ANGRY. He clenched his fists and stared into the bowl of Frosted Flakes.

"Jason Eric Carter! Eat that food right this minute, or you'll be late for school," Jason's mother scolded. "We're already late enough, moving here in the middle of the year."

"I don't care if I'm late or not," Jason muttered. "I don't even want to go to school." He shoved some of the sugary cereal into his mouth and choked it down, even though he wasn't hungry. His stomach was knotted into a ball as hard as his clenched fists.

"Just get ready," his mother growled.

Jason pushed back his chair and stomped into his bedroom. He grabbed his backpack and threw on a jacket. Walking into the bathroom, he ran a brush through his light blonde hair and stared into the mirror. All he saw was a pale boy with blonde hair and stupid freckles that made him look cute to old ladies. The boy in the mirror looked hard and angry and uncaring.

Resisting the urge to smash the mirror into a million pieces, he threw the brush back into the drawer, put on some deodorant, and walked out of his house, calling, "I'm going now!"

A big, smelly yellow monster of a bus clanked up to the house. The doors creaked open, and a heavy African-American man waved a pudgy arm at him. "You Jason Carter?" the man asked.

"Yeah," Jason muttered. "That's me."

"Good," the bus driver said with a smile. Jason risked a smile back, but his smile shattered when the bus driver barked, "Then git yer sorry butt inside this bus! Just another brat I have to deal with…."

Jason rolled his eyes and took a seat near the back. He munched on a green apple and stared at the seat back in front of him. It was brown leather, covered with frayed brown duct tape. He sighed. Suddenly, a voice crowed, "Yer a new boy, ain't ya?"

Jason steeled himself. He looked up with a harsh glare. A red-haired girl with blue eyes and freckles was smiling down at him shyly. Jason stopped glaring, realizing it wasn't some hick boy who wanted to beat him up. "Yeah," he answered evenly. He didn't want to seem too mean or too nice. Who knew what the girl wanted?

"Yer sittin' in mah usual seat," the girl continued, still smiling. "Scootch over!"

"I can just move…" Jason said, and trailed off when he realized that there were no open seats in the entire bus. "Never mind," he sighed, and scooted over to the window. "I'm Jason," he said. "Jason Carter."

"Mah name is Apple Bloom," the girl said. "In case you ain't noticed, ah'm a farm girl!" She pointed proudly to her yellow shirt and blue overalls. She plopped down beside him and put her expensive-looking brown cowboy boots on the back of the seat in front of them.

"Apple Bloom?" Jason smirked.

"Mah parents were crazy," Apple Bloom said with a shrug. "Our last name is Apple, and they got it in their heads that we should all have apple names. Don't ask me. Mah sister is sixteen; her name is Applejack. Mah brother is twenty-one; his name is Big Macintosh. Most folks call us Bloom, Jackie, and Mac."

Jason chuckled. Much to his surprise, he enjoyed the bus ride.

**XXX**

Over the next few weeks, Jason and Bloom became the best of friends. They rode the bus together, sat together, ate lunch together, and did their homework together in their last period of the day. Jason had to say, eighth grade wasn't so bad.

Little did he know that it was about to get a _lot_ worse.

**XXX**

Jason was sitting on his front porch with Bloom. For the past few days, Bloom hadn't seemed to be herself. She was quiet, which was a shock. She seemed subdued and sad, not the happy-go-lucky girl that he knew.

This didn't help Jason's mood one bit. He'd been noticing that for the past few weeks, whenever Bloom came into the room his face would flush scarlet. She made his heart thump nervously, and he wanted to hold her hand for some reason. If he were to face up to the truth, it would be that he was in love with his friend.

"Jason?" Bloom drawled.

"What?" Jason asked, blushing. He'd been thinking about Bloom again.

"Um… what if ah just died?" Bloom asked, fingering the gold necklace she always wore. "What if… ah just dropped. Right now. Er… maybe not now, per se. But… tomorrow. Next week. What would ya'll do?"

Jason stared at his friend, wondering if he'd heard her right. "Well… I'd be insanely sad. I probably wouldn't ever be able to ride the bus again, or go to classes, or eat lunch at our table or… any of that stuff. Why would you say that, Bloom?"

"Ah… just wondering," Bloom sighed. Suddenly, she jumped up, swearing loudly. She spewed such vile words that Jason wasn't sure if he'd heard her right. She spouted out curses from the F-bomb to some he'd never heard before. When she was done, she sagged back down.

Jason's eyes were wide. Bloom _never _cussed. Not even her twenty-one-year-old brother cussed. Something about family policies. "What _was _that?" Jason sputtered.

"Ah… ah just… first time fer everything right?" Bloom said, and grinned weakly. With that, she ran off of his porch.

"What just happened?" Jason muttered. "What's wrong with her?"

The next day, Apple Bloom showed up on his porch in a white dress with a gold neck and gold sleeves. She looked stunning, and it made Jason's heart ache. "Apple Bloom," he whispered. "You look… stunning." Bloom smiled weakly. Her skin looked waxy and pale, Jason noted, but shrugged it off.

"Ya'll really think so?" Bloom asked.

"Of course," Jason breathed. "Why are you dressed like this, Bloom-o? You only wear overalls."

"First time fer everything," Bloom said with a shrug, repeating her excuse for vilely cursing yesterday.

"First time for everything," Jason echoed. "Then… there's a first time for this." He leaned forward and kissed Bloom. Bloom kissed him back, and then broke away. Tears filled her eyes.

"Jason… ah…" she stammered.

"It's okay," Jason said with a smile.

But no, it was not okay.

**XXX**

Bloom and Jason lay next to each other on the grass. Bloom coughed. And hacked. "Ah've got somethin' stuck in my throat," she croaked.

Jason sat up, leaning on his elbow. "You okay?" he asked with a smile. Ever since Bloom had become his girlfriend three days ago, he'd felt happier. Lighter.

"Ah'm fine," Apple Bloom hacked. But she wasn't. Her body was wracked with coughs and sputters. "Jason!" he cried, her eyes wide. She held up her left hand for him to see. It was covered in sticky red blood.

Jason's eyes bugged. "Bloom!" he cried back. "We… we gotta get my mom! We gotta call a doctor."

Apple Bloom's eyes went back to normal as she continued to cough up blood. She panted, "No."

"What?!" Jason screamed. "What do you mean?!"

"Ah…" Apple Bloom stammered, wiping the blood away from her mouth. "Ah'm sick. Dyin'."

Jason wrapped her in his arms. "What does that mean, Bloom? That doesn't make sense!"

Apple Bloom laid her head on his shoulder, the horrible coughs seemingly gone. She looked up into his eyes, murmuring, "First time fer everything." With that, she closed her eyes slowly, and her breathing slowed to a stop.

And Jason sobbed.

**XXX**

Staring down into the open coffin of his first love, Jason tried to stop the horrible sobs coming out of him. He clamped a hand in his mouth as the wracking sobs silenced, but shook his body still. With information from his mother, he'd pieced together that Apple Bloom had been dying since the second month she had known him. She'd hid it until she had been close to dying. That explained her sadness and "First time fer everything"-ing.

He felt something harden in him, then. He just wanted to kill someone, shoot a gun, go hunting. _Something_.

**XXX**

"And that's how I became one of the most feared and respected generals in the army, kids," Jason said. "It was all for Bloom." Tabby, who was thirteen, took nine-year-old Becca in her arms as Becca sobbed. Aaron, who was fifteen, looked like he was about to cry. James, who was eleven, punched the wall and left.

And Jason smiled a sad, sad smile.


	10. It's A Lot Easier to be Mean than Nice

**Author's Note: This story is for M9d, who kindly offered, his OC, Loving Heart, to be used. I did the best I could. Sorry that Apple Bloom is a little mean in this one, but it was the only thing I could think of. **** In this chapter, Apple Bloom is not shipped with anypony. She brings two ponies together. How do you like that? Hope y'all enjoy!**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

Loving Heart stands on his back legs, his back pressed up against the wall of the schoolhouse. Sweat runs into his thick black-and-white striped mane. Two foals are taunting and teasing him about something or other. At this point he can't remember it, as his mind is clouded with fear.

One of the colts, a brawny thing named Buff, sneers at him. "Hey freak-o! Ding-dong!" Buff mocks, lifting a heavy hoof and knocking on Loving Heart's head. "Anypony home?"

"P-please," Loving Heart stammers.

"Please what?" Buff's crony, a filly named Roller Derby, smirks. "Do you want us to go away, Lovie Dovie?"

"It's Loving Heart," Loving Heart murmurs quietly.

"Did you just _correct_ me?!" Roller Derby snarls. She smashes a hoof into the wall of the schoolhouse, just above Loving Heart's head. "I think I know your name," she whispers.

Loving Heart stays silent, gulping and shivering.

"It's. Lovie. Dovie." She says these words very slowly, through gritted teeth. Roller Derby means business when she talks like this.

"Oh-okay," Loving Heart stammers. "It… it's Lovie Dovie. Got it. Point made."

Buff places a hoof on Roller Derby's back. "Come off him, sis," he says.

Loving Heart gapes. These two terrible tormenters are siblings?! His mind reels with shock. Now, though, he can see the family resemblance. Both of the foals have muddy brown fur, pug-muzzles, and dark, hard eyes. They're both ugly on the inside and the outside.

"Whhhhh-yyyyy?" Roller Derby whines.

"Because. It's my turn." Buff cracks his hooves and snorts a breath into the air. "Gimme a cig, Roller." Roller Derby produces a cigarette from her saddlebags and hands if over to Buff. "Lighter," Buff snaps. Roller Derby produces a lighter from the same pocket of her saddlebags, gets a flame going, and lights the cigarette hanging out of her brother's mouth. Buff takes a drag with a malevolent smile.

Loving Heart is watching this with a horrible mixture of fear and fascination. He's never seen a foal this age smoking before.

"Shut your gap before I shut it for you!" Roller Derby snaps, grabbing Loving Heart's jaw and forcing it closed.

"Y'did," Loving Heart manages from his clamped-shut jaw.

"Don't. Get. Fresh." Uh-oh. She's speaking in that one-word-sentence way again.

"I told you to lay off," Buff snaps, knocking his little sister to the side. He grabs a hoof-full of Loving Heart's mane and snarls, "You wait till tomorrow, Lovie Dovie." He forces Loving Heart's head to the left and taps the scared colt's glass eye with his cigarette. With that, the horrible siblings walk away. Loving Heart collapses to the ground, sniffling and panting. He didn't think anypony knew about his glass eye! Tears fill his right eye, his real one, and trickle down his muzzle. A pair of yellow hooves suddenly fills his vision.

"Yer thirteen," the owner of the yellow hooves notes. She has a strong southern accent.

"I know," Loving Heart sniffs. "What's your point?"

"Yer too old to be cryin' and mopin'. Ya'll need to get a vendetta goin', understand?"

"What?" Loving Heart asks, getting up and looking at the pony talking to him. She looks about his age. Her eyes are blazing.

"Ah see ya'll gettin' beat up and messed with er'y day. That ain't right. Ya'll need to take charge. Ya can't just let the bullies win, understand?"

"I… I…" Loving Heart stutters.

"Ah'm here to help ya. Tomorrow, those two foals are gonna beat the tar 'n feathers outta ya. Ah'm gonna teach ya t' fight, y'dig?"

"Oh-okay," Loving Heart stammers. He looks over at his cutie mark, a big pink heart with ribbons of gold around it. It shines starkly against his gray fur. His special talent is being kind, not fighting! But… anything that will stop those horrible bullies he'll do. His eyes harden. "I can do it."

"Good," the filly says with a nod. "Mah name is Apple Bloom. What's yers?"

"Loving Heart."

"Pansy name. Too bad you ain't named Terror 'r sumthin'. Eh, ah'll work with that ah got. First, ah'm gonna teach you a good, solid glare." She narrows her eyes and sets her jaw. "Think terrible thoughts 'bout the pony yer glarin' at, y'dig? Think 'bout all the ways they can be a-killed 'r maimed."

Loving Heart tries to glare at Apple Bloom, he really does. But imagining her hurt or killed makes his eyes well up. In the end, he ends up with a tearful grimace.

Apple Bloom shoots him a death glare. "Try. Again."

"Okay," Loving Heart says shakily. Apple Bloom's meanness is getting to him a little bit. He imagines somepony being really nasty to Apple Bloom. Making fun of her accent, of her fur-color. Of the fact that at thirteen she's still a blank flank. He now imagines that _he's_ the pony yelling at Apple Bloom. His eyes somehow manage to narrow and his jaw sets stubbornly. He shoots Apple Bloom a look of pure acid.

Apple Bloom breaks out into a sweet grin. "Nice one!" he crows. "Good job, Lovie Dovie! Ya'll are doin' it!"

Loving Heart is confused. She just managed to go from looking like she wanted to kill him to looking like she wants to kiss him. He blushes, thinking such thoughts.

"Next, you need to learn 'bout stances." She crouches down, leaning most of her weight on her front legs. Her bottom sticks up in the air, and her head is close to the ground. She snorts out of her nostrils, managing to look like a bull.

Loving Heart, feeling a bit more tough, crouches like Apple Bloom does, practicing his new death glare and snorting. "Like this?" he growls through gritted teeth.

Apple Bloom keeps her stance and her imposing look, snarling out, "Perfect!" She goes back to normal. "That's a real good stance. Next thing: how t' hit." Seeing the look of dread pass through Loving Heart's eyes, she smirks. "Yer such a wuss, Lovie Dovie. Ah hear the names those bullies call ya. 'Baby.' 'Wimp.' Some 'a the bullies think you might be a colt-lover. That true, Lovie Dovie? You a colt-lover? Maybe ah should spread it a'round. Tell everypony that Lovie Dovie is a colt-lover."

"I'M NOT A COLT-LOVER!" Loving Heart roars, leaping foreword and aiming to plant his hoof in Apple Bloom's muzzle as hard as he can.

Apple Bloom steps nimbly out of the way, giving another one of her sweet smiles. "Ah approve," she says, nodding sagely. "The bullies are gonna get y'all fired up. And-" Apple Bloom stops speaking abruptly, peering into the distance. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Loving Heart mutters wearily.

"Looks like 'ol Buff and Roller Derby 'r back fer a second round." She pats him roughly on the shoulder and kisses him on the cheek. "Good luck, Lovie Dovie." With that, she scuttles away.

"Wait!" Loving Heart shouts after her. Too late, though, she's gone.

Buff grins cockily. "Talkin' to the air, stupid?"

"No," Loving Heart stammers. He takes a deep breath. _Apply what that screwy filly taught you_, he thinks. He whips out his glare. "Of course not! Funny that your name is Buff. You brain sure isn't."

"You callin' me stupid?!" Buff growls. He leaps at Loving Heart, who steps out of the way like Apple Bloom did when he tried to punch her in the muzzle.

Roller Derby sees this and shoots him a glare even more acidic than his.

"What's wrong, Roller _Derpy_?" Loving Heart sneers. "Didn't expect 'ol 'Lovie Dovie' to come out on top?"

"Don't call me Derpy!" Roller Derby cries.

"Why? Worried that everypony will see your stupid derp-eyes?"

Then something weird happens. Roller Derby's perfectly straight eyes well up. "I… I…" she blubbers. "Don't be mean to me!"

Buff walks over to his sister. "Man up, you wimp!" he roars, cuffing her on the side of the head.

Loving Heart feels his meanness cracking. What did he just say?! What did he just do?! Did he really spend thirty minutes learning how to fight?! "Um… I'm sorry," he says quietly. "Roller Derby. I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have been mean about your eyes. They're not derpy."

Roller Derby looks up from where she is now lying, knocked over by her brother's cuff. "It's okay," the filly says quietly. "I'm sorry for being mean to you every day." She gets up and glares at her brother, pouring a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of her pack. "I'm done being with you!" She steps up next to Loving Heart. "I'm tired of being mean."

"It's a lot easier to be mean than nice, Buff," Loving Heart says softly. "Forgive and forget?"

Buff looks from his sister to the foal he bullies every day. "N-no way!" he stammers. "You're still a wimp, Lovie Dovie. A-and you too, Roller Derby. I'm done with both of you!" With that, he runs away.

"There's still hope for him," Loving Heart says.

Roller Derby nods. "I really am sorry."

"It's alright. Me too."

And from the bushes, Apple Bloom nods. This is the way things were meant to go. Just another good deed done.


	11. An Exerpt from Echo Heart's Paper

**Author's Note: Hey there everypony! NovemberChild13, here. This story is for a guest named "echo hart" who kindly offered his OC, "echo hart" to be shipped. I fixed up the spelling and capitalization, hope you don't mind! Anyway, I'm still trying to update every day but it's really hard. By the way, has anypony read the **_**Rot and Ruin **_**series? I need somepony to squee about it with. **

**Much love,**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

Anypony who looked into Echo Heart's eyes would fall in love. He never made eye contact.

His cutie mark was a golden star with silver wisps and black hearts around it. His special talent was healing and protecting.

He was light blue with a golden mane.

He was….

**XXX**

Oh, Celestia. I can't write like this. We have to write about ourselves for a school report, but I just can't write about myself in the third pony. The sentences are choppy and they sound bad. So… I'm writing this way. Sorry Mrs. Textbook.

Let's get started.

My name is Echo Heart. I am a fifteen-year-old colt and I am in tenth grade. I have a sky-blue colored pelt and gray eyes with a golden mane. I got my cutie mark when I was eight. It is a golden star with silver wisps and black hearts around it, like I said. My special talent is healing and protecting. The scenario in which I got my cutie mark went like this: _There I was, eight years old. I had already learned that anypony who looked into my eyes would fall in love, so I never made eye contact. There was a little filly in my class named Apple Bloom. She was in this little club called the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She and her friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who were all blank flanks, had formed a club to find their cutie marks. I never joined their club, because I was too shy. I guess you could say I had a little bit of a crush on Apple Bloom at that age. But then again, when you're eight you don't know what real love is. _

_ There were these two fillies in class who had gotten their cutie marks a year ago. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Hard to believe it, considering how nice they are now, but they were terribly mean to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were always teasing them about every little thing. One day I finally got tired of it. Scootaloo was gone for the day because she was sick and Sweetie Belle was on vacation. Apple Bloom was all alone. _

_ They were teasing her about her blank flank when I ran up to her and snarled, "You stay away, you bullies! All you ever do is tease her, and it's super mean!" Well, I made the mistake of looking into Diamond Tiara's eyes. _

And that's why she's my girlfriend to this day.

It's not so bad though. She's nice.

**XXX**

**Note from the teacher: **

** Thank you for offering this excerpt of your report, Echo Heart. It was very nice. **


	12. A Critical Issue

**Author's Note: Hey there, everypony! NovemberChild13, here! :D I'm sorry I haven't updated in a few days, but I was lacking inspiration. This story is for a guest named AnonaimOO-aS, who kindly offered his OC, Critical Debate, to be used. He has light brown fur and a blonde mane, to put an appearance out there. I'm sorry that I'm so late in updating, but I have other stuff to work on. (Stupid, stupid homework.) I promise I will use all of your OCs. And for a certain guest who keeps threatening that some… thing named Herobrine will send my soul to the nether if I don't use "Enderman" from Minecraft, I just want to say… **_**what?**_** I don't play Minecraft, and I know absolutely nothing about it. I looked up what an "Enderman" is, and how do I use that in a story about **_**ponies**_**?!**

**Confused,**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

Critical Debate slammed his balled-up hoof on the table. It landed with a thud, rattling the cups of water that had been laid out for the debate team. "No!" he shouted. "I'm sorry, but that is incorrect Ms. Bookworm. The real reason Princess Celestia and Princess Luna raise the moon and sun is not to keep the balance of their 'fragile sisterhood.' It is to keep balance with the world! The sun can't shine forever, and it can't be forever night. It's just improbable."

The cowering green filly at the desk opposite his whimpered. She twirled her bright orange braid and twiddled her hooves in idle embarrassment. "I… I… wish to counter your point," she stammered, looking like she was about to cry. The entire day, she'd been dreading her debate round with this cold-hearted colt named Critical Debate. She's breezed through the first, second, third, and forth rounds of the debate match with ease, using her hard facts to strike down her opponents. But this colt she was terrified of! It was rumored that somewhere, somehow, he _did_ have a heart deep down inside. But apparently not while he was debating! He'd been hammering her with stone-cold facts and points that made her want to cry and hide.

But Bookworm didn't do that.

She took a deep breath. "I wish to counter your point, Critical Debate," she repeated, this time adding his name. "Even since Princess Luna's return from her thousand-year banishment from the moon, the relationship she once so happily shared with her sister has been, as she says, 'Forced.' Because of this, I believe that Princess Celestia granted Princess Luna the duty of raising the moon and stars, to bring about the old roots of their relationship."

Critical Debate raised an eyebrow, taking in the nervous filly. She was a dark green color with a mane that was a mix of burnt-and-light orange. Her frightened gold eyes reflected his confident icy-blue ones. He felt sort of bad for Bookworm, really.

She was about to be taken down in a slew of stone-cold facts.

XXX

"Good job on the debate, Critty!"

"Yeah, cool one!"

"You really showed that silly-filly who's boss, huh?"

Critical Debate stood in a circle of his loyal friends, blushing. He always felt bad after taking down an opponent in a debate. It was as if some sort of monster got hold of him and made him mean and hard. "Thanks, dudes," he said softly. "I'm gonna go talk to Bookworm." To the jeers of his friend group, he trotted over to the filly who was talking quietly to her parents. "Hi, Bookworm," he said.

"Oh… hi," Bookworm sniffed. She had obviously been crying.

"I'm sorry for being rude in the debate. It's just my debate personality."

"It's okay," Bookworm smiled. "I believe you. Besides, second place is the best I've ever gotten. Thanks, Critical Debate!" She reached over and gave him a quick hug, causing him to blush.

Critical Debate muttered something that sounded like, "WellthanksI'mnotsureokayI'mgonnagonowandokaywellbyeBoo kwormI'mgonnagoandleavenow." He stumbled away, his cheeks scarlet. His friends all laughed good-naturedly at his blush, herding him away to go get ice cream.

XXX

Apple Bloom cracked her hooves, took a deep breath, neatly stacked her note cards, and sat down with a placid look on her face. She was ready for this debate. She'd made it through every round with ease, and now she was facing off with renowned arguer Critical Debate. She saw him off the stage, looking scared. As he walked up the stairs, something in his eyes hardened. They became icy and serious. His jaw went rigid and angry.

"Greet your opponent," the moderator instructed.

The two foals shook hooves, each glaring at the other.

"This debate will talk about why or why other species should be allowed in our public and private schools. Please begin."

Apple Bloom picked up her first note card and began….

XXX

Critical Debate stood in a circle of friends, all of their mouths open. "I can't believe you lost, dude," one of them finally said.

"To a filly!"

"Dude, she was good. And pretty fine."

"Shut up!" Critical Debate barked. "I'm thinking." Just then, aforementioned filly cantered over to them, a big smile on her face.

"Howdy Critty," she said shyly.

"Hey Apple Bloom," Critical Debate muttered.

"Wonderin' if y'all wanted t'go git some ice cream with me."

"Sure."

As his friends watched him walk off, one of them shook his head slowly and said, "Boys, I do believe our little Critty has met his match."


	13. A VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!

**Important: Hey there everypony! This is just an author's note to announce something! **_**PLEASE STOP SENDING YOUR OCs IN!**_** I'm swamped with them! **** I'll only be able to do a few. Thanksgiving Break is coming up, so I'll update as often as I can.**

** XOXO- Novi **


	14. Of Steampunk-ness and OCs

**Hey there everypony! Yesterday, November 18****th****, was my birthday! I've decided to give my loyal fans a present of their own by updating**_**. **__**So, this story actually does belong to me**_**.**** I wrote a short story a while ago about two kids named Trinket and Gear. So, yeah. The person who submitted their OC, Gears, reminded me of the story, so I decided to make Trinket an OC and use her in the story. This is for BlackFalcon269, who kindly submitted his OC, Gears, to be used. He is an Earth pony; dark gray with light blue eyes. His cutie mark is a spanner and two gears. NOTE: I'm sorry, BlackFalcon…. I changed his mane color from brown to black to fit in with the short story I wrote.**

**RandomPony's OC, Tempo, is next. **

**ALSO: I'm sorry this author's note is so long, but one more thing. I'm not sure how long it takes to show up, but I changed my username from NovemberChild13 to NovemberxDashiexMoulinRouge. Cool! AND THE LAT IMPORTANT NOTE: AN OLSTER IS A HORSE TERM. (You'll need to know this later in the story.) **

**Enjoy!**

**Much Love,**

**Novi**

**XXX**

Trinket's metal shimmered in the sun. The shimmering metal in question was one-half of my sister's face. Strange, I know, but she'd decided to become a cyborg for our thirteenth birthday about a year ago, and was taking it quite well. The metal smith was very generous about it, and made the face beautiful, with interchangeable expressions. It was pretty normal looking, in fact. It had a muzzle that wasn't too big or too small, a set of smiling lips, and a big circular eye that glowed different colors. Red was for a mood of passion or anger; blue for sadness; green for tranquility; pink for excitement; orange for humor; a deep purple for romance; gray for boredom, and about a thousand more. Today the smiling lips were on. It was right terrifying to see the angry frown coupled with that fiery red eye.

Trinket was also half-cyborg for more than her face. Half of her body was completely metal and robotics. From her fully-functioning front and back right leg, to the metal encasing her vital organs, she was truly a cyborg among ponies.

Right now my cyborgian sister was wearing a simple gray-and-black dress that poofed out a bit at the end. Not like those old Victorian-era dresses that required a wooden or whale bone-frame. Yeesh, a colt's gotta wonder how they got through doorways back then.

Her metal hoof reflected the sun right into my eye.

I squinted and barked, "Move that chrome!"

Trinket gave me a sneer and flashed me in the eye again.

"Ma!" I whined loudly to the front end of the airship. "Trinket's bein' annoying!"

"Quiet down, Gears," Ma muttered from the passenger seat. "You're stressing your father. And Trinket, stop being annoying."

"What?!" the flesh-side of Trinket's face cried, while the metal-side quickly changed her eye from orange to bright red and pasted on a frown. "I'm not being annoying! I-" Seeing that Ma was beyond listening, Trinket sighed and rolled her normal eye then settled for looking grumpily out of the airship window. There wasn't much to see, though. The airship was going so fast that the ground just flew by in a green blur with the added spot of blue sometimes.

Sighing, I lifted a gray hoof and pushed my goggles up from around my neck and over my eyes. Not that I would ever tell anypony, but I'm a tiny bit farsighted, and the goggles may or may not be prescription. They help me with stuff like reading. But really, who needs reading? It's a sissy activity! I picked up one of my leather boots and took up a bit of leather I'd filched from Pa's tannery for this very purpose. I reached into my saddlebags for a bit of needle and thread and tried to sew the patch on the heel of the boot. Now, I didn't know how to sew, considerin' it such a girly thing to do, but I supposed this one time I could be forgiven.

I was real proud of those boots. I barely ever took them off my hooves, except to sleep and shower, neither of which was very common for me. Pa wore them when he was in the war, and gave them to me for me and Trinket's thirteenth birthday. (The one where she got to become a cyborg.) When I finally finished the boot, I stuck it back on my back left hoof, put my sewing away, and lay down for a bit of a nap.

About five minutes later, my resolve to be nocturnal kicked in and I began to fidget. "Hey, Trinks!" I said excitedly. "When we get to the hotel, wouldja like to come exploring with me?"

She gave me a withering look, her eye still burning red. "Do. Not. Call. Me. Trinks," she growled through gritted teeth. "And, no. I don't wanna go exploring with you, Greasy." The red of her robotic eye quickly changed to that deep purple for romance and her real eye turned all lookin'-toward-the-heavens sort of dreamy. "That big ball is tonight. I'm going to find my Prince Charming, so help me, Celestia!"

"We're fourteen, Trinks," I reminded her. "We don't need no Prince Charmings."

She cut me a look, her eye flashing brown. I couldn't remember what that one stood for. It was either a dire need to go to the little filly's room or somewhere between condescending and withering. Judging by the expression on the real side of her face, I decided to go with the latter. "Of course _you_ don't need a _prince_, Gears. You need a darling little sweetheart. " Her eye flashed orange for humor and she smirked at me. "Unless, you know, you like colts. What's that called again? A coltcuddler?"

I glared at her. "That's a right rude term, Trinket, and you know it. I do not like colts, but there's nothing wrong with stallions that do."

We're twins, I s'pose you've guessed, but in the loosest sense of the word. We're both Earth ponies with bright blue eyes (in her case, eye), gray pelts, and long black manes. Hers is always preened and silky and shiny and other assorted adjectives to describe a well-kept mane. Mine is scruffy and uncombed and generally filled with engine grease. (Sounds grosser than it is, trust me son.) She's judgmental, snobby, and a drama queen. I'm kind, pretty quiet, and quite self-conscious around the opposite gender.

We couldn't be more different unless I turned into Princess Celestia, or somethin'.

"Besides," I continued. "I ain't even going to that ball. I'm gonna work on the engine with Pa."

Trinket rolled her eye. "Alright, then, Greasy. You have fun being covered with engine grease and dead birds while I'm getting swept off my hooves." Her eye flashed that brown again.

"That bird flew into the engine _one time_!" I cried, defending, Pa. "It was its own fault anyway."

Suddenly, Ma trotted back to where we were sitting. "Foals, I need to talk to you about the ball tonight," she said, her deep gray eyes flashing with concern.

"No need to, Ma," I said, puffing out my chest proudly. "I ain't going."

"Hold it right there, Gears," Ma said. "We're still gonna talk. But I'm talking to your sister first." She turned to Trinket. "My, my, Trinket. How you've grown."

Trinket shifted uncomfortably, her metal face moving with her real one to create an expression that was half-disgusted, half-awkward, and half-annoyed. (Yeah, I know. Three halves. The geometry professors will sneak in and kill me in my sleep.)

"Uh… Mother, you see me every day," Trinket said.

"I know, you're just growing up, is all," Ma said, lifting a brown hoof to wipe her eyes.

"Ohhh-kay."

"Trinket, you're going to the ball tonight, and I want to caution you. Some of the stallions will be perfectly respectable, while others… not so much. They may be many years older than you and lie about it, for example. Some of these stallions may try to take advantage of you by-"

Trinket stuck her hooves in her ears and shrieked. "MOTHER!" she shouted. "I am _NOT_ listening to this! I know my boundaries, alright?"

I snorted, and Ma glared at both of us. "Little lady, we will talk about this," she hissed to Trinket, but then turned to me. "Gears, your father and I want you to go to the ball. We've decided it will be a good experience for you."

"WHAT?!" I burst. "But, Ma! I don't wanna go! I'll have to comb my mane and tail, and shower, and wear a tux and-" I stopped myself. "Wait… we don't own a tux. There!" I grinned triumphantly and crossed my forelegs.

"We rented one before the trip," Ma said. "We didn't want you to be difficult the entire ride over, so we decided not to tell you until now."

"No!" I growled.

Before she could yell at me, our airship landed. We parked in the hotel's air parking lot and went into our room. I moped around all day, not wanting to explore, go swimming, or even eat. Finally, though, it was 8o'clock. I had reluctantly showered, brushed my mane and tail and teeth and fur and pretty much every other part of me that could be brushed, and put on my tuxedo. Ma let me keep my goggles on, though. (Okay, she's the only person who knows about my farsightedness. I swear to Celestia or send me to the moon!)

Trinket was fussing with her mane and ended up braiding it in some sort of Juliet-style braid, like from the play _Romeolster and Juliet_. She stuck some flowers in her tail for added effect. She was wearing a pretty (not that'd I'd ever tell her) pink dress with white slipper-boot-things.

I thought I cleaned up pretty nice, but Trinket obviously didn't think _she _did.

"MOTHER!" she wailed. "NOPONY WILL WANT TO DANCE WITH ME 'CUZ I'M A CYBORG!"

Ma soothed her, not mentioning the fact that it was her own choice to go half-cyborg and she didn't even have the right to be complaining like a sissy.

Trinket didn't want to ruin her makeup, so she stopped blubbering.

XXX

I was at the ball. I was watching Trinket get swept off her hooves by some dashing young stallion, looking like she was going to spew rainbows. They were dancing a slow dance. Heck, it coulda been a polka for all I cared.

I had yet to dance with anypony. Suddenly, my eyes caught the soft eyes of a filly about my age. She had a cute red mane, a soft-looking yellow pelt, and the biggest doe-eyes I'd ever seen. She was trotting over to me. _Oh, Celestia_, I thought, blushing. I smoothed out my mane and gulped.

"Ah hate it here," the sweet-looking filly growled harshly.

_Oh, great. The prettiest filly here comes to me, and she turns out to be scary. Whatever. Swing at every ball. _"So do I," I agreed. "I'd like to be workin' on Pa's airship with him."

"Ah'm with ya there," she remarked, punching me in the shoulder.

I gritted my teeth as my eyes watered from the sting of her punch.

"Ah'm Apple Bloom."

"Gears."

"Who's the pretty cyborg?"

"My sister, Trinket."

"Ah take she's enjoyin' herself with Mr. Shallow-and-Handsome over there," she said wryly.

"Mmm-hmm," I gulped. This filly was perfect! "Wanna get out of here?" I risked asking.

The mildly-scary filly suddenly got shy. "Maybe a dance first?" she asked.

I nodded. "That'd be cool."


	15. A Note to ElderScrollsPony

**Hey there everypony! Do you actually read my author's notes? Please tell me in the reviews! This is a note to ElderScrollsPony: The last OC was not yours if you thought it was. It was Gears. I'm using yours next. So sorry it's taking too long! It'll be up before the weekend is out… I promise!**


	16. Tempo in Bloom

**Hi there everypony! So sorry for not updating like I promised. This chapter was written by my best FanFiction friend Emmo13. HUGE thanks to her; check out her stories!**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

Tempo stood in front of the mirror. His turquoise eyes really popped out against his dark grey coat and neat black mane and tail. His highlights were also a dark grey color. He decided he looked nice and headed out of the bathroom, grinning confidently. Today would be his first day attending school in Ponyville, and he was a bit excited. Because he moved from Los Pegasus, he was looking forward to seeing what a small town school would be like.

"Have a good day at school, Tempo," Tempo's mom, Harmony, said.

"Be good, son," Tempo's dad, Enharmonic added.

"Thanks Mom. And I will Dad," Tempo replied, heading out the door. He trotted down the dirt roads and towards the schoolhouse. He entered the room and was shocked to find only a few colts. What was up with this town and the lack of males?

"Hi there! You must be the new student, Tempo?" a purple mare said. She had a pink mane and three flowers for her cutie mark. He assumed this was the teacher.  
"Yes, that would be me," Tempo answered.  
"Great! I'm Miss Cheerilee. I'll be your teacher," Miss Cheerilee said. So, his supposition was correct. "Class, say hi to our new friend, Tempo. He's from Los Pegasus."  
He noticed some fillies look at him endearingly. This made him a bit nervous; he was kind of shy around them.  
"Why don't you tell us about yourself?" Miss Cheerilee asked.  
"Alright. Well, like Miss Cheerilee said, I'm from Los Pegasus. I live with my parents who sell musical instruments for a living and I've been learning how to play the viola from my aunt, Octavia," Tempo shared.  
"Your aunt is Octavia? As in the Octavia?" one of the fillies asked excitedly. She was pink with a purple and white mane. On top of her head was an expensive looking crown which was an instant turn-off. Tempo didn't really like rich ponies, well at least snobbish ones.  
"Yeah…" Tempo answered reluctantly, realizing this would probably make him popular around this group. He didn't want to be popular though; he'd rather just make a few good friends.  
"Ooh!" a lot of the foals said.  
"It's been great to get to know you a little better. Why don't you go sit in that empty seat next to Apple Bloom?" Miss Cheerilee suggested.  
"Okay." Tempo walked over to the seat pointed out to him and turned to the yellow filly next to him, Apple Bloom. She was wearing this big pink bow in her pink hair and her sunset eyes were looking back at him.  
"I've noticed ya don't have yer cutie mark yet," Apple Bloom whispered. He felt shy and looked down.  
"Don't worry, I don't either," she said. Tempo looked back at her and noticed her flank was just as blank as his.  
"You wanna play with me and a couple of my friends at recess today?" Apple Bloom offered.  
"Okay," Tempo whispered in reply.  
"Great!" she said smiling. Tempo was beginning to like this pony; she seemed to like him for reasons beyond the fact he was from a cool city and related to a famous mare.  
Miss Cheerilee finished gathering her notes and started class.  
"Today we're going to talk about the weather," she said. Tempo moaned. Topics like this really bored him. Instead of listening, he thought about the most recent song Aunt Octavia taught him.  
"Tempo, are ya coming?" Apple Bloom asked. Tempo realized the others were heading out for recess.  
"Sorry, I'll meet you out there," Tempo mumbled, feeling foolish.  
"Okay!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, following the others out the door.  
"Hey." That voice sounded like that rich filly. He turned around and his suspicions were correct. She was accompanied by a grey-colored filly.  
"I'm Diamond Tiara, and this is my friend," Diamond Tiara said, pointing to the grey pony.  
"I'm Silver Spoon," she shared.  
"Hi," Tempo said, heading to the door to meet Apple Bloom and the others.  
"Wanna hang out with us?" Diamond Tiara asked.  
"Actually, I promised Apple Bloom that I—"  
"That loser? Please, a colt like you should hang out with cool ponies, like us," Diamond Tiara said.  
"Yeah," Silver Spoon added. She seems more like a sidekick than a friend, Tempo thought.  
"She doesn't seem like a loser to me," Tempo defended.  
"But, she's a Blank Flank," Silver Spoon said.  
"So am I," Tempo responded, motioning to his empty flank.  
"But, but," Diamond Tiara said as she tried to think of a good reason for him to not play with those fillies.  
"I'm sorry, but I promised I'd play and I'd like to keep that," Tempo said firmly, finally getting outside into the nice sunny day.  
"Fine, be that way—Blank Flank," Diamond Tiara said furiously. Tempo ignored this as he met up with Apple Bloom and a couple other "Blank Flank" fillies.  
"Hi again, Tempo!" Apple Bloom beamed. "These are my friends."  
"I'm Sweetie Belle," a white filly with a purple and pink mane said.  
"And I'm Scootaloo," an orange pony with a magenta mane said. They seemed pretty nice.  
"Hi," Tempo said, smiling.  
"It's awesome to see another blank flank around here!" Scootaloo said.  
"Yeah! Plus you can join our club!" Sweetie Belle grinned.  
"Club?" Tempo asked.  
"Ya see, since we're the only ones who haven't gotten our cutie marks yet, we formed a club. We call ourselves the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'. We spend our time trying to discover our special talent in hope of getting our cutie marks. Cool, huh?" Apple Bloom asked.  
"Cool? It's awesome!" Tempo exclaimed. He really did think it was awesome. He was sure at that moment that he wanted to stick around with these fillies.  
"You really think so?!" Sweetie Belle asked, voice squeaking.  
"Yeah, I do," Tempo affirmed.  
"So, you wanna join then?" Scootaloo questioned.  
"Sure!"  
"Great! We'll hold the ceremony after school. You can come over to our clubhouse, can't ya?" Apple Bloom asked.  
"I'm pretty sure my mom will say yes," Tempo said.  
"Yay!" Sweetie Belle said, bringing the other three into a group hug. It was just his first day and he'd already made friends. He was looking forward to that afternoon.

XXX

"We, the Cutie mark Crusaders, elect Tempo to join us as a brother, friend, confidante, alley, buddy, chum of chums…" Sweetie Belle glanced over at Scootaloo. She laughed nervously, so obviously she wrote it.  
"Um…and fellow Cutie mark Crusader. You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, in witness of your sisters, friends, and confidantes…buddies..."  
Tempo laughed.  
"Cool! So what first?" Tempo asked.  
"You have any ideas?" Scootaloo said.  
"Well, Scootaloo you seem pretty good on the drums, and I'm pretty good at viola. What if we tried a band?"  
"That'd be cool! Sweetie Belle can be the singer!" Apple Bloom said.  
"Oh no, I don't know if I could sing all by myself," Sweetie Belle said nervously.  
"I'll sing with you then," Apple Bloom offered. Sweetie Belle sighed.  
"Okay."  
"We can get Spike to play piano too, probably," Scootaloo said.  
"Spike?" Tempo asked.  
"He's a baby dragon. Don't worry, he's a good guy," Sweetie Belle explained.  
"If you say so," Tempo said.

XXX

Over the next several weeks, the Cutie mark Crusaders and Spike prepared to perform for the school's talent show. They wrote a song, practiced a bunch, and were feeling pretty good.  
"Last time we did the talent show, we did really badly," Apple Bloom laughed.  
"Really?" Tempo asked.  
"Eeeyup, but we ended up winning the comedy award!"  
Tempo laughed with Apple Bloom. Ever since they became friends, he'd really enjoyed being in her company. Her little southern drawl, her down-to-earth nature, really everything about her made him feel…good.  
"Everypony quiet backstage!" Miss Cheerilee instructed. Then, she started the show.  
The "band" waited impatiently for their turn. They were a bit nervous, but it was clouded by the excitement they felt.  
"You're turn guys. Break a leg!" Miss Cheerilee said, signaling for the group to head on stage. Tempo was feeling pretty confident, holding his viola up and getting ready to play. In the audience he noticed his aunt Octavia was there by his parents. This gave him even greater confidence and he waited for Scootaloo's signal.  
Scootaloo began and Tempo and Spike joined in. Then, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom began singing. Tempo noticed the audience seemed to really enjoy their performance. This made Tempo feel good and he kept playing his best. After they finished, the crowd erupted in applause.  
The band smiled and headed off stage.  
"Did we get our cutie marks?" Sweetie Belle asked, and the foals all ran around in circles looking at their flanks. Nothing.  
"Aw man!" Scootaloo pouted.  
"You all did great!" Miss Cheerilee said. "Come out now for the awards."  
The group watched as their fellow students won awards for various subjects, such as "Best Magic Act", "Best Comedy Act", and etcetera.  
"For the Best Musical Performance, we award The Cutie mark Crusaders and Spike!"  
They smiled as they were given the awards, but were disappointed that they hadn't gotten their cutie marks.  
"Maybe there's something we're missing," Tempo said later at their "meeting".  
"I just don't know," Apple Bloom sighed. It made him sad to see her sad. He wrapped his arm around her.  
"It's okay, we'll get them sometime," Tempo comforted. Apple Bloom blushed, but Tempo didn't remove his arm.  
"Well, I guess we'll have to try something else tomorrow. See you guys later," Scootaloo said, heading out of the clubhouse.  
"Mom and Dad are probably wondering where I am. I better go too," Sweetie Belle added.  
"Bye," Tempo and Apple Bloom said.  
"Tempo, you're really good at the viola. Will you please play me something?" Apple Bloom asked.  
"Of course," Tempo said, pulling out his viola. He started to play this slow song Aunt Octavia had taught him a while ago. Apple Bloom smiled and watched intently.  
"Thank you," Apple Bloom said. She then kissed his cheek and walked out the door, leaving him speechless.


	17. Chasing the Mist

**Hey there everypony! Novi, here! This story is for YingoShabuki, who kindly submitted his (her?) OC, Mist Chaser, to be shipped with Apple Bloom. I have absolutely NO inspiration whatsoever these days, but I'm still going to update. It's Friday night! *In Fluttershy voice* "Yay." Anywho, I'm gonna get this chappie over with. Thanks, Yingo! By the way, this makes no sense and it's not supposed to. WARNING: THE UPCOMING CHAPTER IS A SADFIC! (AND SERIOUSLY PEOPLE: TELL ME IN THE REVIEWS IF YOU EVEN READ MY AUTHOR'S NOTES!)**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

Mist Chaser raised his head and let his inky black mane fall back against his ears. He flicked them flat against his skull and flew softly into the night sky. He grabbed on to a cloud and hoisted himself up, pricking his ears up in the direction of the luminescent stars. He rested his head on his hooves, closing his eyes against tears. "I ruined it," he muttered into his dark blue hooves. "I ruined it."

XXX

**Flashback to the previous night….**

_The yellow Earth pony stumbled through the fog in the Everfree Forest, tears running down her face and staining her muzzle. She sniffled and harshly wiped her eyes, then continued on her fruitless quest. "Chase!" she cried out. The cry rang off of trees loudly and clearly, but it was greeted with a resounding silence. She began to gallop, screaming out, "CHASE!" Her hoof caught on a root and she careened face forward, crashing and hurting her muzzle. She let out a nasal moan and clapped her bruised hooves over her muzzle, leaning against the back of a tree. "Chase," she muttered, her voice muffled through her hooves._

_ A voice as smooth as silk answered her. "Who are you looking for, darling?" it asked. A dark blue Pegasus fluttered down in front of her, landing softly on all four hooves and giving a crooked grin. "This fog sure is something, eh?"_

_ The yellow Earth pony let out an angry shriek and flung herself at the Pegasus, pummeling him with her already bruised hooves. "Ah hate you!" she screamed with a heavy Southern accent. "Chase, ah hate you!" Her muzzle hung lopsidedly on her face. _

_ The dark blue Pegasus grimaced, letting her beat him and scream insults. When she finally ran out of stream, he tucked his wings to his battered, throbbing sides, wincing even though the touch of his wings was as soft as a feather. "Feel better?" he asked with a grimace. _

_ "No!" the filly screamed. _

_ He lifted a hoof and gently touched her hanging muzzle. "Your nose is broken," he said softly._

_ The Earth pony began to cry again, fat tears falling down her broken muzzle as she threw her front legs around the Pegasus in front of her and sobbed. "Ah was so scared!" she wept._

_ The Pegasus gently cradled her in his front legs and sighed. "I'm sorry, Bloom. But… you shouldn't chase the mist if you're not ready for the consequences." He gently kissed her on the forehead and leaned her back against the tree. "Somepony'll find you on the morrow. I'll make sure of it." He rose into the air with a sorrowful look in his deep brown eyes. _

_ "Don't leave!" Apple Bloom choked out. _

_ "I'm sorry," Mist Chaser mumbled before flying away into the starry night._

End


	18. Of Love and Overcoming Bigotry

**Hey there everypony! Look at me! I'm updating! *Stupid smile* Anyway, I must admit: I'm pretty bad at writing femslash shippings. And I had two fillies to ship with Apple Bloom. But then I realized something! *Light bulb ding!* I could have Apple Bloom bring them together! So there you have it! The fillies I'm using are Mono Mage, courtesy of Trialman AKA Soma Cruz, and Glass Mirror, courtesy of Shado Room of Souls, who is the best FanFic sister there ever was! The pony in this story, Frosted Apple, is one of my OCs. This chapter contains: OC X OC, OC X Pinkie Pie, and… that's it.**

** Enjoy!**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

_Glass Mirror Focus_

Glass Mirror had a secret. It hid behind her magenta eyes. It behind her bright blue mane and her silver glasses. It hid behind her twinkly laugh. Her secret?

She liked mares.

Of course, this was to be expected of her. After all, she had two moms. There was Dotted Cream, a white Pegasus with red eyes whose special talent was making the best darn cups of coffee. And then there was Sonata Immorata. She was a dark blue unicorn with deep green eyes whose special talent was singing. Many a stallion bewailed when the two announced to the public they were to married next summer. Well, now it was summer and Glass Mirror, or Glassy, was beginning to feel the pangs of a first crush pulling towards a Southern spitfire named Apple Bloom. At first she had ignored it, but as the days ground on, she realized that it was more than a crush.

It was true love.

Most older and more sagacious ponies would tell her that she was too young to know what true love was. They would tell her that it was a silly foalhood crush; she'd find her true love when she was older and wiser. But Glassy refused to believe that. She knew that it was true love.

Or did she?

_XXX_

_Mono Mage Focus_

The entire Mage Family sat in the basket of a classy dirigible, floating gently towards their vacation destination: a small town called Ponyville. The eldest child, a strong stallion named Midnight Mage, did the steering, a smug smirk on his face. The smirk said _Look at me. I can steer. You can't. I'm SO much better than you! _The youngest child, a pale gray filly named Mayflower Mage, was curled up under one of the seats reading a grim tale by Edgar Allen Poeny. The middle child, a gray pelt – and mane - sporting unicorn, was adjusting the bright blue bow around her horn. She looked out upon the town as they approached it. From what she could see, it was quaint, colorful, and cute… but that was about it.

_Thank Celestia for Canterlot_, she thought with a roll of her sky-blue eyes. Her name was Mono Mage, and she was the most high and mighty unicorn you would ever meet. Now, this wasn't her fault. Her parents, Marcus and Melody Mage, had raised her with a few simple philosophies. They were engrained in her head: _Unicorns are the most proud, prestigious race of ponies there is. No race is better, except for the mighty alicorn. Pegasi are brutes and tomboys; stay away from them. Earth ponies are lowly and dirty; NEVER talk to them. _

Little did she know that she was about to have many an interaction with Earth ponies AND Pegasi.

_Glass Mirror Focus_

"Glassy?"

The voice snapped Glass Mirror out of her thoughts and she turned to look at the speaker: a snow-white Pegasus colt named Frosted Apple. If Glassy had been interested in colts, Frosted Apple would've been on the top of her list. He had a long coco-colored mane, muddy-golden eyes, and a white cowpony hat that he sported everywhere. He was Apple Bloom's cousin who hailed from Coltland, Oregon, so he didn't Sport the southern accent that most of her family had.

"Glassy. Seriously."

"Sorry," she said with her laugh that sounded like stars. "Zoned out."

Frosted Apple raised his eyebrows and smirked. "Thinkin' about my cousin again, Miss Mirror?"

Since she was a white unicorn, blush showed very easily on her fur. She glared at Frosted Apple and frowned. "Shut up, Frost. I should never have told you."

Frosted Apple's eyes twinkled merrily. "Oh, it's okay." He put a foreleg around Glass Mirror, and bumped her flank with his own. "You see right through me," he added with a wink. This was actually quite true: her special talent was empathy and seeing right through ponies. Her cutie mark was a window with glowing blue panes and a white frame. Frosted Apple's own cutie mark was a shiny red apple covered in a thin layer of bluish-hued frost.

Glassy was still blushing. "Be that as it may," she mumbled quietly.

Frosted Apple smiled guilty, checking her flank again gently. "Aw, c'mon, Glassy. You know I didn't mean it."

Glass Mirror looked up with a smirk. "Just kidding! I can see right through you, but it's obviously not vise versa!"

Frosted Apple chuckled. "Speaking of vice!" he growled, leaping at his best friend and throwing his hooves around her neck for a good-natured throttle.

_Mono Mage Focus_

"Mono, put your boots on," Melody Mage advised, slipping her hooves into stylish black boots of her own. "You don't want the dirt of this town on your hooves." She sniffed the air, nodding in approval. "I smell baked goods. I'm a bit peckish from this long flight. Let's go to the place where I smell the baked good."

Mono Mage stuck her dainty gray hooves into a pair of lilac-colored boots and trotted out of the bed and breakfast her family was staying in. Little Mayflower was going bare-hoofed, much to her parents' distaste. Midnight had on some scary-looking combat boots, and was discussing hunting with his father. The family trotted to the bakery, a cute place named Sugar Cube Corner.

"Quaint," Marcus Mage said flatly.

Mayflower risked a smile. "I like it, Daddy," she said quietly.

Marcus Mage ignored his youngest daughter and trotted into the bakery in their family pecking order: he first, then Melody, then Midnight, Mono, and finally poor little Mayflower. Melody and Marcus eyed the place with obvious distaste: an Earth pony was managing the counter. She was an unsightly pale pink with a wild darkish pink mane.

"HI!" she squealed. "You all look alike! Are you related? You must be related. That's _so_ awesome! An entire family! You must new here because I've never seen you! Or maybe you're just on vacation. Well, which is it? Huh? Huh? Ooh! You're all unicorns!"

Midnight Mage gave his mother and father a smirk that said _I've got this_. He trotted foreword, moving Mayflower and Mono behind him. "Look, Earth pony." He said the words "Earth pony" as if they pained him. "You must work here. We're not here for questions; we're here for baked goods. So let that be all we get, alright?"

The pink mare gave him a funny look. A deep flush washed across her cheeks. She didn't look offended or saddened like most Earth ponies did he gave them speeches; she looked slightly… happy. She smiled shyly. "What would you like?" she asked quietly.

Midnight Mage felt something funny stir inside him. He stared at the Earth pony. _Maybe she's not so bad…_ he thought, and then recoiled at himself. _WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?! SHE'S AN EARTH PONY! YOU'RE A UNICORN! PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER, MIDNIGHT! _

"Hello?" the pony asked. "Mister…?"

"Midnight," Midnight said breathlessly. "Midnight Mage. Um… croissant," he mumbled.

"I'm Pinkie Pie," the mare said, handing him the baked crescent. "And… will you be busy later?"

And, to the shock and disgust of every single member of the Mage family except for Mayflower, Midnight Mage answered, "No."

_Glass Mirror Focus_

Glass Mirror, Frosted Apple, and Apple Bloom sat together on a bench in the town square of Ponyville. They were all relaxed except for Glassy. Frosted Apple's wings were completely unfurled, hanging limp at his sides. Apple Bloom was lying on her back with her front legs behind her head and her head in Frosted Apple's lap. Glass Mirror was tense and nervous. Why? Because she was next to the love of her life, who was practically ignoring her! Well, this could have been helped in Glassy had uttered more than two words to Apple Bloom the whole time, but she was just too nervous.

"So… Glass Mirror… ya got a nickname?" Apple Bloom asked, trying to break the ice between herself and Glass Mirror.

Glass Mirror nodded and smiled, managing, "Glassy."

Apple Bloom grinned. "That's purdy cute." She gave her cousin a knowing smile and then turned back to Glassy. "So… my cousin here tells me yer pinin' fer somepony real bad. He won't tell me who, though. But ah gotta say: ah'm a real matchmaker! How do you think Dinky Hooves and Pipsqueak even met?" She winked at Glassy, her big eyes full of deviance and humor.

"I… uh… um…" Glassy stuttered out. "Yeah. I… I guess I am pining for somepony." She shot Frosted Apple a glare so full of hate it could've melted pure steel. She turned back to Apple Bloom, blushing. "She doesn't even know I exist."

"Oh, a filly-lover, ah see," Apple Bloom said thoughtfully. "Ah mostly work matching' up fillies and colts, but hey! Ah don't judge."

"Did I just say that out loud?" Glass Mirror moaned. And in that moment, she experienced a moment of pure clarity, pure, raw enlightenment. Her special talent was empathy. Seeing right through ponies. And she knew right then that Apple Bloom of the Apple Family would never, ever, ever return her affections. She was as straight as a board. What did the older ponies say? "Straight but not narrow." But still straight. She offered a sad, sad smile and then said, "You know what? Thanks, Apple Bloom. Thanks. Really. But… I don't think I like her anymore."

Frosted Apple gasped.

And then… the most beautiful filly in the world sauntered by.

_Mono Mage Focus_

Mono Mage was seething. She'd told her family she needed some time to herself while they berated and belittled her brother for agreeing to do on a… a…_ date_ with an… _Earth pony_. She looked to her left and saw three ponies sitting on a bench. They all looked from ages thirteen to fourteen. One was an – _ugh_- Earth pony, with her head laying in a Pegasus's lap – _EW_– and the other one was a quite awkward-looking unicorn. She watched them for a moment, but couldn't hear what they were saying. The Earth pony lifted her head from the Pegasus's lap and began to talk animatedly. The unicorn blanched and blushed at the same time, stammering something and glaring hard at the Pegasus. The Earth pony had a thoughtful look cross her yellow-furred face and she said something quietly. The unicorn blushed and looked down with a sad look on her face. She looked back up with a smile that looked like she was trying to be strong, and then she said something.

It was more than Mono Mage could handle.

On a whim, she trotted over to the trio and swung her sky-blue eyes at the unicorn's magenta ones. There was an electric spark between the two, and Mono felt her cheeks heat, even though she wasn't sure why. It was as if she'd been waiting her entire life to meet this unicorn or something. She shook her head. Turning back to the unicorn, she said, "I'm Mono Mage," in a proper voice.

"Glass Mirror," the white unicorn murmured with an unsure look on her face. She paused, and then added, "You can call me Glassy."

"And you can call me Mono."

The white Pegasus snorted and collapsed against the bench, guffawing loudly. "Mono!" he screeched. "What kinda nickname is _that_?!" He laughed and then snorted again; a most unbecoming sound. "So, who'd you get it from? Your boyfriend?" A lewd expression crossed his face, and he raised his eyebrows with a cocky grin. "Unless of course… you don't have one. Then we could make arrangements."

Now, Mono Mage never resorted to violence. That was a purely Pegasi-esque move, and _NO _unicorn in her right mind should have ever wanted to be like a Pegasus. And yet, she used her light blue magic to lift the stupid, immature Pegasus into the air and throw him into some bushes twenty feet away. She let him go before he hit the bushes and he flapped into the air, zooming back over to the group. He grabbed Mono Mage by the horn and growled into her face, "Look, _Mono_, you're a real-"

"Let 'er alone," the yellow Earth pony said, picking up the Pegasus's white cowpony hat and dusting it off, and then returning it to his head. "Let's go, Frosted Apple. This silly-filly don't deserve our attention." The two trotted off huffily.

The white unicorn pushed up her silver glasses and gulped, looking terrified. She slowly brought her eyes into a sort of half-glare half-grimace and growled, "Why did you do that?"

"I needed to talk to you," Mono Mage said simply.

"Why?" Glassy said with a horrible glare.

"Because I don't think you should be hanging out with a lowly Earth pony and a brutish Pegasus. You're much better than that, hmm? You're a proud unicorn, and you shouldn't be wasting your company on the likes of them."

_Glass Mirror Focus_

Glassy took in the hateful figure before her. She was heartbreakingly beautiful with her gray fur and her striking blue eyes, but she was also horrible. After all, she'd just thrown Glassy's best friend! And then she'd insulted him _and_ Apple Bloom! "I'll '_waste_' my company on whoever I want," Glassy said quietly yet fiercely. She took a deep breath, preparing for a monologue. "My moms told me about unicorns like you. They call you The Hatefuls. You're unicorns who think that every race but alicorns are below you. And you know what? I'd be mad, but… it's not your fault. You don't really feel this way." She took another deep breath, reading the shocked expression on Mono's face like an opened book. "My special talent is empathy, reading pony's emotions. You don't feel this way," she repeated. "You're misguided. Lemme guess: Your parents raised you this way?" She left a pause for Mono Mage to speak.

The silvery unicorn faltered. "I… I…" she stammered, "I don't know." She sat on the bench beside Glass Mirror and sat her head her boot-clad hooves. "I honestly don't know."

"You're perplexed," Glassy narrated calmly.

"I…" Mono Mage mumbled, hanging her head. "I'm confused."

"That was pretty easy," Glassy said with a smile. "Well, what are your first words now that you're not a Hateful anymore?"

Mono Mage opened her mouth to protest, and then stopped. She opened it again to speak calmly, and the shut it. She opened it a final time to laugh, but snapped her mouth shut again. "Mayflower," she moaned, closing her eyes.

Glassy raised her eyebrows. "Mayflower?" she asked.

"My little sister," Mono said quietly, shutting her eyes. "She… she's never thought we were better than anypony. If anything, she thought we were worse." In a sudden rage, she ripped off all of her fancy lilac boots, levitated them into the air, and shot them in the direction of the dump. She rubbed her temples with her bare hooves and sighed. "I'm so confused, Glassy. My brother Midnight… he agreed to go on a date with this pink mare named Pinkie Pie. And… Mother, Father, and I were so disgusted. But Mayflower didn't care."

Glassy gave a small smile and sagely nod.

_Mono Mage Focus_

Mono Mage was so confused. Nopony had** ever** contidicted her. Nopony had **ever** tried to talk her out of being, as Glassy said, a "Hateful." So why did this one talk with Glass Mirror change her so? And what was this strange emotion flaring up within as they talked?

The two talked for the remainder of the day, hours and hours. In the end, Mono Mage had reached a few conclusions: She was officially a reformed Hateful, she needed to apologize to Mayflower Mage, she needed to apologize to Midnight Mage for being rude about Pinkie Pie, she needed to apologize to Frosted Apple and Apple Bloom, she needed to make more Earth pony and Pegasi friends, she needed to confront her parents, and… she was happier than she had been in a long time.

She reached over and took Glassy's hooves in her own. "Thanks," she said quietly.

Glassy blushed.

And guess what? She was in love again. But at least this time her affections were returned. ;)


	19. Puddles and Flames

**Howdy, everypony! This is my final update for the OCs. I had two left to use, a well-meaning pyromaniac named Paperflame, and a moody rain-watcher named Rain Puddle. So I decided, why not use them BOTH in a shipping! (Don't worry: They're not being shipped together! Not that I have any problem with male/male shippings. :3) After this story is uploaded, I won't accept any more OCs for a while. I loved working with them, though. I'm going to quit on this story for a while, but I'm accepting entries for characters from the actual show to ship Apple Bloom with. NO ADULTS; THAT'S CREEPY! :D**

** This chapter is for Shado Room of Souls, one of my two FanFic besties, and rjd39, who submitted Paperflame.**

**-Novi**

**XXX**

Paperflame meant well. He really did. He just had a little penchant for lighting things on fire. Alright, alright. A BIG penchant. It wasn't his fault, you understand. He was a pyromaniac. Whenever he near a flammable object, his horn tugged at him. It whispered at him to spew a burst of deep orange magic and _burn_ the object in front of him.

It was a Monday afternoon, currently, and Paperflame was bored. He was sitting in his classroom, listening to his teacher ramble about dividing fractions. His big brown eyes flicked to the pony in front of him. His brother's fillyfriend, a pony named Apple Bloom. She was a pretty thing, but not his type. What _was_ his type was her mane. Cherry-red, rounded at the ends, and always neat and smelling like apples.

Perfect to light on fire.

A burnt orange glow began to imamate from his horn and he stared deeply at Apple Bloom's mane, concentrating.

His brother, Rain Puddle, saw the glow and screamed, "PAPERFLAME! NO!" Seeing that it was too late to stop him, his eyes moved to Apple Bloom and he cried, "BLOOM! _MOVE!_"

The Earth pony shrieked as smoke began to wisp from her mane, right before it burst into bright flames. It licked at her mane, crawling up it. A unicorn created a water spell to put the flames out before they hurt Apple Bloom, but she was now drenched and sobbing with fear and embarrassment.

Rain Puddle ran over to her and wrapped her in his forelegs, glaring at his unicorn brother. "Lucky you got the unicorn gene!" he roared sarcastically. "Celestia, Paperflame! You mess up _everything_! And now you've terrified my girlfriend and ruined her mane!" He shook his head in disgust. The entire class watched in stunned silence; not even the teacher protested about the harsh words.

Paperflame shook his pale yellow head and a look of innocence filled his big brown eyes. "I… I didn't know what I was doing!" he cried. "I… I'm sorry, Apple Bloom."

Apple Bloom wrinkled her muzzle and wiped away her tears. "Whatever, Paperflame," she said in her Southern-accented voice.

"I-" Paperflame started. "I-I'll make it up to you! I promise!" With that, the well-meaning pyromaniac ran out of the room with tears streaming down his face.

XXX

_**Day One:**__ Apple Bloom opened her mailbox. There was a newspaper, some bills, a letter to Applejack, a post card from Appaloosa, and a big pink envelope with "APLLE BLOOM" scrawled across it in horrible script. "They spelled mah name wrong," Apple Bloom observed with disgust. _

_ She ripped open the envelope to find some cardstock with "I'm so sorry!" written on it about a hundred times. At the bottom it said, "I'm gonna send you a prezent every day for one month… or at leest untill you forgive me. – Paperflame." _

_ Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and walked back inside, throwing the letter and envelope in her room. _

_**Day Two: **__Rain Puddle and Apple Bloom walked hoof-in-hoof to the barber's shop. Rain Puddle held open the door gallantly for his fillyfriend. The two walked inside and Apple Bloom explained about her unfortunate mane situation. The barber chuckled and levitated a comb in the air with his pale pink magic. "We'll see what we can do," he smiled._

_ Suddenly, a water balloon splattered against the window. Paperflame appeared with a big smile on his face and a hoofmade sign that said, "HI APPLE BLOOM! UR GIFT 4 TODAY IS ME LEARNING TO SPELL UR NAME AND THE MOST OF THE WORDS ON THIS SIGN RIGHT!" _

_ Rain Puddle moaned, muttering something that could've been, "My stupid brother."_

**Day Three: **_Rain Puddle and Apple Bloom were on the most romantic picnic of their lives. _Okay, you're gonna kiss her_, Rain Puddle thought to himself. _Just do it, buddy. _He leaned forward when… "OW!" he cried. "The heck?" A big bouquet of flowers had hit him in the head. They were lilacs, Apple Bloom's favorite kind. There was a little note attached to it that said: "This is Apple Bloom's gift for the day. I learned how to spell, but U need 2 learn how to be romantic. Give her the flowers. UR welcome." _

**Day Four: **_It was Friday night, and there was a party at the house of one of the colts. Rain Puddle was drinking a cola out of a plastic cup and guarding Apple Bloom. He just KNEW Paperflame would show up at the party and embarrass him and Bloom. He finished off the last of the soda and rested his head on his hooves, brushing back his dark mane. Apple Bloom shifted her weight on the couch, leaning closer to him. "Don't let 'im get to ya," she advised in her drawl-y voice. "Just enjoy the party. Wanna dance?" _

_ Rain Puddle pasted on a smile. "I'm sorry, Bloom. Paperflame has just been really annoying these past few days, getting you all these gifts. I mean, I know he's not trying to hit on you but…"_

_ Apple Bloom nuzzled his ear. "C'mon, Puddles. He means well. He ain't tryin' to hit on me; he just wants my forgiveness." With that, she grabbed his front hooves and tugged him on to the makeshift dance floor. _

_ Rain Puddle put his front hooves around her neck and twirled her around. Even though he really hated house parties like this, when Bloom came… it was all worth it. He ignored the smell of sarsaparilla, of sweat, and of, in some extreme cases, vomit. It was hot and muggy and dim, but he could've sworn he and Apple Bloom were on the deck of a moonlit ship. He could've stayed like that if Paperflame hadn't shown up and ruined everything._

_ The pale yellow unicorn tromped through the house, levitating a giant sunhat with a desperate look on his face. _

_ Apple Bloom sighed and grumbled, shouting out, "AH FORGIVE YA, PAPERFLAME! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" _

_ Paperflame dropped the sunhat, grinned, and kissed Apple Bloom on the cheek. "Glad you forgive me!" He was all smiles… until Rain Puddle decked him and knocked him unconscious._

_ "That's what you get for messin' with my girlfriend," the moody stallion grumbled._

_And the party went on. _


	20. One Last Notice

**Okay, I know I've said this about a thousand times in pretty much every way possible, but I'm going to cease production on this story for a while… maybe a long while. I AM NOT CEASING IT FOREVER… don't worry. I just want to thank everypony for the reviews, the feedback, and the OCs. It was really awesome getting to meet new friends. And a HUGE thank you to Shado Room of Souls for following the story continually. ^^ You're the best Warrior-Pony sis ever! And another HUGE thank you to ElderScrollsBrony, for always reviewing with such kind feedback. May I suggest that you make an account? And one last thank you to Flutterchief for being so nice and awesome! And also JackalFoxx for being probably the kindest person on all of FanFiction. :D **

**Goodbye for now!**

**-Novi **


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